

The Ultimate Modern Desert House - shard
http://www.jetsongreen.com/2009/06/desert-modern-rimrock-ranch-house.html

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te_platt
Maybe not so green but for aesthetics I prefer this one designed by Guy
Dreier:

<http://www.lloydplatt.com/arch/gill(3).jpg>

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natrius
This is an interesting design, but it's probably worth mentioning that any
efficiency gains from passive heating are likely far outweighed by the need to
drive long distances to get to anything due to the house's remoteness.

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HeyLaughingBoy
You assume that you _need_ to get to anything frequently.

Although I'm just about 7 miles outside town and therefore it's not an issue
for me, I figured out that if in addition to my chickens and veggie garden, I
had a few cows (probably miniatures -- they're more feed efficient) and a
handful of goats and some fruit trees, I really wouldn't need to leave my
property except to work. And that could be done by telecommuting if I were
willing to search for that kind of job.

My house is built on the east side of a hill. If I were starting from scratch,
I'd seriously consider building it _into_ the hill. With solar heating and all
the windows on that side -- that's where most of them are now anyway -- and
the rest of the house underground. In the summer, my walk-out basement is
cooler than the air-conditioned main floor and Minnesota has about the same
level of solar insolation as Austin, TX so we have more than enough sun to do
it.

I like this guy's house and there really shouldn't be any reason it couldn't
be built in the average suburban subdivision except for idiotic zoning laws
and even more stupid Homeowner's Associations: how people can live in those
things is beyond me!

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gibsonf1
Maybe it's just me, but the industrial steel roof structure over the house is
genuinely ugly. There is no integration between the house and this roof. The
functional climatic solution could be done elegantly and in a more integrated
way.

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stcredzero
I've thought of the same idea: steel canopy over a hyper-insulated house. The
whole point is that there is no integration. It's hard for heat to get into
the house. Greater visual integration could be achieved by using congruent
shapes. However, the stock configuration of the canopy is probably much
cheaper.

Another idea I've had: an A-frame house, with one side facing the sun,
completely covered with solar panels. Angle of the A-frame would be based on
the angle most efficient for PV panels. Angles could be asymmetric.

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nir
Are you familiar with Earthships? <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthship>

There's a lot of interesting work done there on sustainable buildings, and I
think there are ideas there that can be applied in non-earthship buildings as
well.

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stcredzero
Another idea for hot climates: Monolithic Dome Eco-Shell with a fabric covered
geodesic dome built around it. Paint the fabric with ceramic bead reflective
paint.

Eco-Shells can be put up very quickly, and are cheap and very strong. They're
just a step away from a bomb shelter, actually. Fabric-covered geodesic domes
are also cheap. (DIY)

<http://www.monolithic.com/topics/ecoshells>

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sfphotoarts
It looks like someone was building a gas station, then changed their mind and
put a house there instead.

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stcredzero
How about a big neon sign that says "Eat at Joe's?"

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TriinT
The Kaufmann Desert House (designed by Richard Neutra) is a whole lot more
aesthetically pleasing imho:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaufmann_Desert_House>

[http://www.latimes.com/classified/realestate/la-fi-
home26-20...](http://www.latimes.com/classified/realestate/la-fi-
home26-2008oct26,0,5859306.story)

