A home is a place of shelter. It signifies a place of belonging, where they seek rest and make memories. It represents its residents. Therefore, people spend a lot of time, thinking about the kind of house they want to spend their lives in, and how it is going to reflect their values.
People are moving towards eco-friendly homes, that reduce carbon footprint and live more simply. While at the same time being a space where residents spend quality time with their family.
Since there aren’t enough resources in the world to cater to the population of the planet, disposing of them injudiciously would be unwise. Also, maintaining a comfortable temperature inside a building consumes a lot of energy, therefore, reducing energy consumption is a way towards eco-friendliness.
An eco-house is efficient because it employs prefabrication mechanisms and methods which reduce waste as well as energy consumption. Eco- friendly houses can be constructed in many ways. By optimally planning; the orientation, windows, which will reduce the amount of heat-trapping inside the building.
From building materials to the use of renewable energy sources to design that strives for efficiency and harmony with the surrounding environment.
Bamboo homes
(designed by Elora Hardy, Bali, Indonesia)
In Bali, a whimsical bamboo home named Sharma Springs built by designer Elora Hardy is featured. This home defies convention because of the use of bamboo, which itself is an enigmatic and eco-friendly material.
Bamboo is a special building material, as it is natural and renewable, and hence you can never find two identical bamboo poles. Therefore, in the house, every room has a unique shape that distinguishes it from the others. In addition to being an eco-friendly material, bamboo offers very good aeration, let alone its aesthetic features.
Illawarra Flame
(Team from University of Wollongong, Australia)
Students from Australia’s University of Wollongong took a typical Australian “fibro house,” and retrofitted it with sustainable technology, to make it into a net-zero house. The Illwarra Flame house was involved in a lengthy renovation process including transforming a bedroom into a living space, and the installation of prefabricated pods that contain amenities including laundry room and bathroom.
Sustainable additions include a roof-based 9.4-KW solar panel system, rainwater harvesting and gray-water recycling systems, energy-efficient LED lighting. Also, a building management system that offers fine control over, and information concerning, all electrical appliances and stored energy.
ZEB Pilot House
(Designed by Snøhetta)
An experimental home, with incredible efficiency and ample solar panels, ZEB Pilot house generates almost three times the amount of electricity it requires. In order to achieve this performance, the ZEB Pilot House features the proverbial kitchen sink of sustainable technology, including a large photovoltaic array, rainwater collection system, solar thermal panels, and an efficient heat exchanger. The ZEB Pilot House’s performance is currently being monitored to make sure the claims of energy-efficiency are justified.
P.A.T.H.
(designed by Philippe Starck, France)
Renowned French designer and architect Philippe Starck recently teamed-up with Slovenian prefab firm Riko and brought out a new line of high-end prefab houses called Prefabricated Accessible Technological Homes (or P.A.T.H.).
PATH homes can support an all-glass outer shell, a combination of wood and glass shell, or fully-wooden shell, and is also available In multiple shapes and sizes. Optional sustainable tech includes a roof-based solar array, roof-based wind turbine, and a rainwater collection and filtration system.
The value of a house is not only monetary, but its impact on the environment is also significant. Awareness amongst people regarding the deterioration of the environment has led to constructing more ecofriendly homes.
Hence, an increasing number of people are looking for solutions, to minimize both environmental impact and financial outlay by equipping their homes with sustainable technology. This is resulting in a boom for sustainable building and architectural innovation.
