architecture 4 us

Green Home Design by Architecture Degree Students

Posted: 09 Dec 2010 11:30 PM PST

The architecture degree students of Texas Tech University and Urs Peter Flueckiger created a green home design in the form of a sustainable and prefab modular cabin. The green design was inspired by Henry David Thoreau‘s cabin on the shore of Walden Pond, also the Le Corbusier’s idea about minimalist living. As a type of prefab sheds, this cabin is used as a laboratory to study the sustainable design principles, located in West Texas.

This eco friendly living adopted a lot of green technology concepts, including the energy generation, waste and water processing, air circulation. This modular cabin was built from recycled building materials, recycled metal chassis of a double-wide mobile home. The exterior is clad with corrugated iron and cedar. Some green products are also used for the interior, including bamboo flooring, yellow pine claddings, and recycled insulation materials from blue jeans. There is also a Morso stove, made from reused scrap iron.

As a laboratory of architecture degree students, this cabin is used to study some sustainable house design principles, such as the green electricity production for the cabin, by using solar panels. The electricity produced is stored in batteries. They also study the methods of harvesting the rainwater, and recycle the human waste for manure. The students also can study about the windows and door configuration for cross ventilation concept, to keep the cabin cool. In the other words, this cabin provide a good condition of studying an eco-friendly and minimalist living condition.