15 New Types Of Homes In Our Changing World

Posted on May 27, 2014 by Thijs

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The times they are a-changing, Bob Dylan sang it already in 1964 but nowadays hi
s words are more true then ever.
Modern day developments such as environmentalism, the financial crisis, increase
d poverty and wealth, are steering dwellers away from traditional homes. Some ar
e forced due to financial problems. Others just want more control over their wat
er and electricity supply.
Some act out of idealism like communal back-to-the-landers, free men, or citizen
s who are just concerned about the environment. And yet another group takes adva
ntage of increasing wealth and architectural advances.
The increased diversity in contemporary housing leads to changes in what we call
home. For the first time in our history we can pick and choose where we want to
live. Thanks to the internet and cheap traveling we are inspired by all kinds o
f ways of living all over the world.
We don t have to live the way our parents did. An unprecedented revolution is in i
ts infancy (not only regarding housing but on all aspects of humanity). While on
the other hand, the less fortunate, have no choice at all and are forced to go
back to basic.
Here are 15 examples of how, in our Western society, we are living differently i
n a new era.

Completely off-grid mini homes

Chamfer home by S-archetype

Chamfer home , a stylish, sustainable and affordable compact home
The glass wall floods the Chamfer home with light. Its double glaze is designed
to both heat up when its cold outside or ventilate the interior when necessary.
Used as either a posh beach house or innovative urban home, this 27 square meter
s autonomous prefab is an affordable eco friendly home.
Chamfer Home is very space-efficient offering most of the amenities of a larger
home, including a fully functional kitchen and a bathroom.

Tiny houses (and dedicated parks)

tiny house parks are still virtually non-existent

tiny house parks are still virtually non-existent
Tiny homes are the perfect example of people taking control of their lifes. By d
ownszing they are able to step out of the rat race. Less costs for utitilities,
less rent, and increased mobility provide freedom. Breaking the shackles of the
crumbling and progressively stifling system.

The big question that rises, where to put your tiny home? Dedicated tiny home pa
rks don t exist. This is because the same land, when allocated as tourist designat
ion is far more profitable. So offten they are parked at friends, or arrangement
s are made with land owners in change for some maintenance work.
Tiny house movement pioneer Jay Shafer is working on the first community based t
iny homes park in Sonoma, California. The village of tiny houses bears the working
title Napoleon Complex with the byline cohousing for the antisocial . ( really like
that name and, have to admit that the tagline appeals to me too)

Shipping container homes

shipping container guest house

shipping container guest house
Upcycling is hip yes. It s a trend started by the environmental movement that is c
urrently embraced by an increasing portion of the world population.
It s much more than a fad though, it s a logical development. The practice of mass p
roducing building materials while at the same time discarding vast amounts of us
eful materials such as shipping containers as waste is just insane.
And if you look at what can be done with only two shipping containers and some m
aterial to create a connection you ll be amazed. (check out the interior on photo
5,6, and 7)
Visit Inthralld for an eco, off the grid version of a shipping container home. O
r check out this post for some amazing homes built with recycled material.

Guerrilla architecture

guerrilla architecture concept by Stephane Malka

conceptual guerrilla architecture
This occupation of La Defense in Paris is an example of guerrilla architecture. Th
is interpretation of the concept of parasite architecture is from former graffiti
artist and architect Stephane Malka. He foresees a massive influx to the cities
the coming decades in which a revolution..
By creating a city in a city that acts like a pocket of resistance and can grow
inside the city. The Parisian elucidates: this act of guerrilla architecture set
s out to hijack the Great arch of fraternity. Unite the forsaken, the marginalized
, refugees, demonstrators, dissenters, hippies, utopians, and the stateless of a
ll kinds.

Urban off-grid communities

off grid camp in Kreuzberg Berlin

urban off grid camp in Kreuzberg Berlin
No solar panels so no electricity. Some tents are isolated allowing people to li
ve here even in the cold Berlin winters. One of the most harsh alternative home
environments. On the other hand it is located in Kreuzberg near the Oberbaumbruc
ke, one of the most fun districts in Berlin. There s even a hostel, you can sleep
in a tent for 1 euro, breakfast included.

Rural off grid communities

Slab City a rural off-grid 'society' in California

Slab City a rural off-grid society in California
Slab City is located on an abandoned World War II navy base in the Colorado dese
rt, California. The city of snowbirds and squatters is mainly occupied in winter
by RV owners and squatters. During the summer, when the desert turns into an ov
en, most inhabitants migrate to cooler climates.
The city that exists outside society has no toilets or sewers, no electricity, a
nd is both decommissioned and uncontrolled. It is known for its artwork such as
East Jesus and Salvation Mountain and open air nightclub The Range.

Modern, extravagant, upcycled villas

Villa for an Aviator, by Urban Office Architecture

upcycling is also popular among the more fortunate
As the rich are getting richer and building techniques and technology are evolvi
ng rapidly, more extravagant homes will be built. Crazier designs, stuffed with
ultra modern technology but also with recycled materials. This villa, built from
salvaged airplane parts intended to simulate life in the clouds, is only the st
art of what will be possible.
Named a villa for an aviator, the structure in New York state was designed as a de
constructed airplane to give the owner the feel of living in spaces that are sur
rounded by open sky.

Transportable houses

part of the BATON APH80 series

PH80 has 3 different spaces measuring 27 sq mt (93)

As we are working more from home (and we are losing jobs to machines) portable h
omes are becoming a more viable option for many. Architects are anticipating suc
h developments resulting in beautiful new forms of living.
Again from Spanish studio Abaton is this tranportable house named APH80. Transpo
rted by road this pre-fab home can be placed almost anywhere. The home features
a living-room/kitchen, a full bathroom and double bedroom. Its large doors and w
indows bring the outdoors inside thus blending ind with the environment. Prices
start at 21,900 .

Sky cities

Sky Habitat Bishan, Singapore

Sky Habitat Bishan, Singapore
Cities are getting bigger, land is getting more valuable and building techniques
are increasing in unsurmounted pace. The result? Skyscrapers that literally tow
er above the clouds housing thousands and thousands of people.
Containing whole cities, including indoor farms, hospitals, gyms, police station
s and all other things necessary (including pool bridges for the not so faint of
heart). Often, the richer you are the higher you live. The cleaners and other s
ervice personnel are living at the lowest
On the photo: Sky Habitat capitaland, Bishan Singapore. Here s a short video impre
ssion.

The sky is the limit (or not?)

sky city one

the race for the world s highest building continues
The sky is probably not the limit when it comes to building high rise structures
. One day we may step in an elevator that brings us to a space station. This is
no science fiction. The engineers at Google X, Google s secretive R&D laboratory,
are already working on a space elevator.
Too bad they had to put it on ice until we have invented a building material tha
t s strong enough. In order to reach low Earth orbit (LEO), we re going to need nano
tube strands that are hundreds of miles long and modern science is not capable o
f doing that. Yet.
The skyscraper on the picture is yet to be built Sky City. If everything goes as
planned it will top world s current highest building Burj Khalifa, by 10 meters (
Sky City will be 838 meters (2,749 feet) tall).

Rooftop pods and micro homes

Loftcube prefab mini house for rooftops

prefab micro home on rooftop
In cities there s still room for additonial housing such as in between the buildin
gs, on the gaps, on the blind walls, under bridges and on rooftops.
Another form of housing, somewhat of a legit type of architectural hijack are ro
oftop pods.
Wealthy city dwellers are taking to the idea of rooftop living such as in a Loft
Cube.
These mini-penthouses are put on top of roofs with helicopters. A great way of l
iving but at a price tag of $3,000,000 for 2,000 square feet price competely on
the other side of the housing spectrum.

Upcycled portable shelters for the homeless

gregory-kloehn-dumpster-homes
upcycled mini shelters for the homeless
These sturdy, innovative and mobile shelters for the homeless are made from ille
gally dumped trash, commercial waste and excess household items piled in alleywa
ys and discarded throughout the city.
The little homes are made by Gregory Kloehn for his Homeless Homes Project. With
the help of volunteers he upcycles what they find and makes these moveable shel
ters. Pizza delivery bags are used for insulation, a washing machine door functi
ons as a window and pitched roofs keep the rain out.
The wheels ensure the owners can roll them through town. Just imagine how skid r
ow would look with these colorful sheds instead of tents and sleeping bags.

3D printed homes for commuters

3D printed concept home by FutureLab

3D printed home designed to put it right next to where you work (or in nature, t
hey are portable)
3D Printing is the future. In China they recently 3D-printed 10 houses in a sing
le day and they are printing a canal house in Amsterdam as we speak. It won t take
that long before we will print almost anything. These 3-D printed portable hous
es are designed for commuters. The idea is to place these homes next to office b
uildings or factories.
The German creators think they will be able to fit in a bathroom, kitchen and sl
eeping space. The pods ar made of sand and special binder.
The surface of the house can collect the water and use for heating, cooling and

toilet system by the water that runs through the capillaries in the walls. Via N
BC News.

Bamboo micro-housing in abandoned industrial complexes

in reaction on the critical housing crisis, AFFECT-T designed Bamboo Micro-housi

ng
in reaction on the critical housing crisis, AFFECT-T designed Bamboo Micro-housi
ng
This bamboo micro housing by Affect-T seems like a noble and easthetically pleas
ing initiative but it makes you wonder if these aren t basically an upgraded versi
on of the infamous metal cages poor Hong Kong dwellers live in. Admitted, any im
provement in their situation is better than no one at all.
The skyrocketing housing prices have led to
in such abominable circumstances. Hong Kong
Stacked on top of each other, the 1.5 sq m
of 1,300 Hong Kong dollars (about US $167)

a community of about 100,000 living

s poor cages don t come for free either.
enclosuress can be rented at a price
per month.

The bamboo shelters can be built quickly without sacrificing quality but remains
to be seen if the series of tiny and affordable shelters will improve the situa
tion of this segment of the city s inhabitants.

Tent cities

tent city Seattle

tent city in Seattle
Evictions are of all times but since the financial crisis the amount of people t
hat got evicted and was forced to live in tents grew exponentially. So while ten
t cities are nothing new we might pose that considering the increasing wealth in
equality in America tent cities may be here to stay. (I highly recommend watchin
g the video on wealth inequality if you haven t seen it yet).
Modern day tent camp dwellers are far from just drug addicts and the mentally il
l. You can find veterans, college graduates, and middle class families who have
fallen on hard times in the encampements in woods, parks, under bridges, and oth
er locations.
On itself a sad sign of our modern times but an outrageous development when you
realize that governments are trying to shut down tent cities, effectively evicti
ng people again, this time from their tents.
It gets even worse, some cities pass ordinances that ban camping on city-owned a
nd residential property and prevent anyone from sleeping, bathing and shaving in
public restrooms.

Where will it end? Will the contrasts between poor and rich continue to grow unt
il we end up in a situation comparable to the one outlined in the dystopian flic
k Elysium? Or will new technologies such as 3D printing, nano tech, and others c
lose the gap? What s your take?