Introduction

This is a rough plan for an ecological, energy- efficient, earthquake-resistant,

easy to maintain, exercise, experimental house.
Goals
To create a model house with:
minimal negative impact on the environment.
energy-efficiency.
disaster resistance, especially earthquake, for my part of the world.
low maintenance. Easy to clean.
kid and pet resistance.
fun for guests of all ages and species.
built to serve many generations, it avoids the trendy or showy.
does not try to please everyone, but rather to deeply satisfy the people who act
ually use it.
good value, suitable for mass production.
The house attempts to blend with its environment, integrating natural light, wat
er, earth, plant and animal life into its basic design. It might look more like
a conservatory than a conventional house, with its plants and vegetables growing
everywhere.
Basic Design
Please feel free to change any of the design details to suit yourself. I have pr
ovided my own decorative details to give a concrete example of how such a house
might look. I wondered if perhaps I should not be so specific, since many of my
specific choices may not appeal to you. The pictures I show are only rough appro
ximations to what I have in mind. They are the best I could come up with using i
mages.google.com
The house is a 3-story plus basement, heptagonal (7-sided) cylinder placed on a
sloping wooded lot in a rural setting in British Columbia, Canada. Each floor ha
s a theme that unifies its activities:
sensation: stereo, TV, home theatre for anyone who wants to drop by, bathing, lo
unging, games, play, roughhousing, community meetings.
security: cooking, eating, pantry, emergency larder, showering, laundry, receivi
ng guests.
power: the home office, Internet connections, writing, computer controls. It is
just a partial floor to give the security floor below a higher ceiling for part
of it.
love: the bedroom, meditation, massage room.
universal connection: the roof is a garden, a place where you can bask and look
at the stars. It would be a safe place for birds.
Energy Efficiency
This area I have not researched properly. I would be interested in your ideas at
.
The house is tall and skinny to make maximal use of natural light and natural co
nvection to distribute heat. The additional natural light encourages occupants t
o arise with the sun and further reduce their dependence on artificial light.
Possible state-of-the-art technology to investigate includes:
efficient wood-burning stoves
solar hot water heating
solar voltaics
fuel cells
light pipes, balanced spectrum lighting
heat pumps
double pane glass
heat storage
non-polluting toilets and washer/dryers.
energy efficient refrigerator and freezer.
grey-water recycling.
greenhouse
computer controlled blinds
natural-looking fountains, ponds, plants, aquaria, waterfalls, mist fountains.
Use of triangles, hexagons, heptagons not just rectangles, in construction, for v
ariety and greater strength to weight ratio.
Tilapia (a fish of the cichlid family from Israel that can be farmed indoors). T
hey taste a bit like trout with the texture of salmon. You can buy live fish for
about each in a pet store or each in a supermarket. Fish breeders still need
to work on shrinking the bones (as the breakfast trout breeders have done), and
blunting the dorsal spines.
Capture the mechanical energy of people exercising or moving about the house.
Designs that make recycling of energy and materials a matter of course.
Earthquake Preparedness
The building is mounted on a flexible base similar to that used in Japan for com
mercial buildings.
There is a fireman s pole to use for rapid evacuation down the centre of the build
ing. There is a second fireman s pole outside the building, accessible from the ro
of. It has a bungy-cord mechanism to protect you if you slip. These are also the
re for the sheer fun.
There are ladders beside the fireman s poles. This gives additional exits and acce
ss in deep snow or fire. Other means of moving around the house are described la
ter.
Internal surfaces are rounded and, where practical, padded.
There is a cistern on the roof that can collect rainwater. Normally it is kept f
ull from the water mains.
There is a small pond and natural-looking fountain on the roof. There are aquari
a on each floor, one for tree frogs and for fish from the Amazon, Thailand and M
adagascar. These provide additional emergency water.
The plants and aquaria sit in troughs designed to catch water spills.
There are no knick-knacks, with the exception of large National Geographic statu
es of marine mammals which are suspended from the ceiling.
The cupboards and bookcases on every floor have heavy-duty catches similar to th
ose used on yachts.
The house is heated by a high-tech wood stove and water pipes, and equipped with
a 12-volt thermovoltaic 12-volt backup system.
Computer power backup (just long enough to shut down).
There are no lamps or other furniture that could tip over.
Any pictures are either bolted to the wall or unframed.
The tall skinny lighthouse-like design should be more resistant to winds, floods
and tidal waves. It should also make it possible to hold up the floor without h
eavy internal beams.
There is an emergency larder of non-perishable foods that do not require refrige
ration, cooking or electricity. The larder would also include some foods that re
quire fire to prepare such as flour and dried beans. These foods would be consum
ed and replaced on an ongoing basis.
All these features also tend to make the house pet and kid-resistant and kid-saf
e. Because nearly everything is nailed down, it is fairly safe to allow strangers
or homeless people to stay overnight.
Hurricane Preparedness
The building offers a relatively streamlined profile to the wind which should re
duce damage. In a flood, you could move to the higher floors, and use the top fl
oor as an ultra secure area for refuge or storing valuables, safe from looters.
I would imagine these buildings in hilly or mountainous areas so they would have
a sound bedrock foundation. There are types of glass that are hurricane resista
nt. They will break when hurricanes throw debris at them, but they won t shatter o
r allow debris into the house. In hurricane regions or regions of extreme temper
ature, you would go easy on big windows, and make do with smaller porthole type
windows.
Easy To Clean
This is a house to be lived in and to entertain guests casually. Each floor is a
single room as much as is practical. In addition to making the house easier to
clean, this gives it a feeling of spaciousness and allows natural light to penet
rate.
There is a computer controlled irrigation system to ensure all the plants get th
e optimal amount of water and fertiliser.
The floors are mostly of seemless linoleum with rounded corners, hospital style,
so there is no groove to catch dirt. They simulate natural smooth horizontal su
rfaces such as rock, moss, sea sand, leaf-covered forest floor, desert, lake, du
ckweed, stream bed even lawn. The patterns mask stains. The closest I have yet fo
und to such floor coverings are the Mannington Naturals.
The furniture is well padded with a leather-like surface that is durable and eas
y to clean.
Materials used throughout the home should not give off fumes, should be fire res
istant, and should cause minimal impact on the environment to manufacture. Most
internal finishes are natural woods, perhaps treated for durability and fire-res
istance.
The plumbing is designed to be easy to clean, perhaps even on the industrial sid
e. The durable taps have levers instead of knobs so people with weak grips can u
se them.
The plumbing and wiring run in easy-to-access ducts for ease of repair and upgra
de.
Decor
The decor is based on natural woods, living plants and visual spaciousness. Beig
e is all but banished.
Exterior
The building is intended to roughly look like a giant tree stump. Perhaps the ex
terior could be covered in bark or something similar. Ivy or other climbing vine
s may complete the illusion.
The landscaping is naturalistic and low maintenance, using native plants. Landsc
aping elements look as much as possible like plausible natural creations. The ho
use wishes to disturb its environment as little as possible. It knows it is an i
ntruder, and tries to compensate.
First Floor
The south side is all glass. A greenhouse is attached to the south side of the h
ouse. You enter via the greenhouse where citrus trees grow. The greenhouse colle
cts heat for the house, but is separate from it in case the house gets too hot.
The first floor is one big room, an extended kitchen. The laundry area has state
-of-the-art washer and dryer that use minimal soap and water.
There is an area to store and maintain bicycles.
The foyer has a West Coast Native motif. The floor is slate which does not show
the dirt. The foyer has a bear box lit with track lighting. This is part of the
blend-with-your-environment theme. I had something darker and unpainted in mind,
but this gives you an idea what a bear box is.
The waiting area has comfy tan chairs/couches. There is a statue of a Thai-style
Gautama Buddha spare, clean, something like this:
Hanging stained-glass lamps make it welcoming and invite reading. Perhaps a citr
us tree theme could be used, but almost any Tiffany-style lamp looks spectacular
.
There is a fireplace. The spiral staircase leads into the waiting area, allowing
for residents to make a mildly dramatic entrance.
There is a composting toilet. There is a shower big enough for more than one per
son at a time.
The kitchen area psychologically centres around the woodstove. Ideally the woods
tove would be have a Euro-style bread oven and a cooking surface mainly for boil
ing water.
The furniture is light wood. It has an island to makes it easier for several peo
ple to work at once in the kitchen. It is taller than the other counter space to
partly block the view of the other counter space from the living area.
There are sufficient outlets for all appliances to be plugged in at once. The co
rds are trimmed to the appropriate length and are colour-coded to keep people aw
are of how much power each appliance consumes.
A smiling sun is affixed to the wall.
There are ceramic tiles, some depicting nature themes, on the splashboard. I hav
e already acquired my first such tile.
There is a herb window garden.
Basement
The basement theme is a womb with a view. It is done in light woods, with yellow
s and oranges. It has a platform suspended from the ceiling that you could sleep
or swing on. The couches are long and comfortable enough to sleep on.
Bathing might be handled with a restored bright yellow clawfoot bathtub or a hot
tub or whirlpool whatever is the most energy efficient. If there is sufficient
privacy, you can look out the tub into the surrounding woods. The bathroom toile
t can be used in privacy even while others are bathing.
An alternative design would use a more formal room on the second floor. You migh
t then elect to bypass the basement.
The basement has two sides all glass overlooking the downhill slope view.
The basement also acts as a guest room for overnight guests. Some of these guest
s might be tempted to steal, so the room is designed to lead them away from temp
tation. There is almost nothing to steal. The room would also act as an informal
community mini-theatre where people, especially less-affluent people, would fee
l welcome to drop by almost any time and play DVDs on the home theatre system.
Third Floor
This home office floor looks like something out of an Ikea catalog (a Swedish fu
rniture store), but more built-in. There is plenty of desk space, ergonomically
designed. There is no clutter of cables or manuals. Flat panel displays further
reduce the clutter. The colour scheme is light woods and dark greens. The comput
ers are operated with voice control and ergonomic Dvorak keyboards. There are ha
nd-held digital recorders so you can record thoughts that come to you away from
the computer for later transcription.
There are a few hammocks so you can take a break or a nap, or just think.
There are windows on three sides on the north side to avoid glare. The windows a
re floor to ceiling to encourage taking a break from work to reconnect with the
environment.
Fourth floor
The bedroom is done in dark woods.
The four east walls are done stain glass, mostly in blues and greens. The stain
glass panels are backed by the usual glass thermal windows for protection and in
sulation. The lead calms (pronounced cames) let the glass breathe giving it resist
ance to thermal stress and earthquake shock. Shatter resistant coloured glasses
predominate.
In the meditation area is a lush carpet of mossy greens. There are some Tempur-P
edic beds and a stationary massage table. There are clear panes so that you can
see:
The rising sun in the morning.
The setting sun in the evening.
The stars at night.
There is a clear skylight so you can see the stars at night and a clear window s
o that you can see the rising sun in the morning.
Here are some sample stain glass work done in blues and greens to give you and i
dea of what I had in mind. The themes would be local wildlife and plants e.g. or
ca, dolphin, bear, moose, deer, beaver, frog, salmon, trout, bee, water lily, ca
ttail, dogwood, salal, blackberry, salmonberry, blueberry, wild strawberry done i
n a simple style with textured glasses providing most of the detail interest.

The central panel might depict earth from space using the traditional painterly
style of stain glass fused in a kiln, or perhaps by stirring molten glasses.
Mandelbrot s blue green period.
There are wall-mounted candle holders, again reiterating the nature theme. Ideal
ly they would be combined with a capsis wall-mounted fountain.
Roof
Planting with native plants and stocking the pond with native species helps mini
mise the net impact. If you look down on the house from above, it should look mu
ch like the original plot of ground. The house disturbs as little ground as poss
ible. Alternatively, the roof could be a more conventional flower or vegetable g
arden supporting an abundance of plant species.
Inter floor communication
There are staircases connecting floors, conceptually a single spiral staircase.
They need to be solid and quiet, and non-slippery. The stairs are more gently sl
oping than is conventional to make it easier for wheelchair ramps, and to make i
t easier to run up and down them safely. There is a bosun s chair beside the firem
an s pole to lift people who cannot handle stairs to the upper floors.
The fireman s poles and the ladders, while ostensibly for emergency evacuations, m
ay become the preferred means of getting around the house.
The Jphones make pleasing organic tones depending on who they are for. They only
ring on the phone nearest the recipient.
The intent of the building is to encourage you to naturally exercise climbing st
airs.
Sound System
The sound system could be an essay in itself. It is easy to use, even in the dar
k, even by guests. It works much the way in-flight music works on commercial air
craft, but has a more sophisticated implementation.
All around the house are digital loud speakers and jacks for headphones. Eventua
lly technology may permit cordless headphones. Beside each speaker or jack are f
our controls:
channel thumbwheel
volume dial
forward button
back button
The channel thumbwheel lets you select one of 99 music channels to listen to. Th
ere are also live audio feeds from AM/FM radio and TV. There are also spoken wor
d (educational, hypnotic, talking books) channels.
The volume dial won t let you accidentally turn the volume up so loud that you dam
age your hearing, even if you are currently listening to a quiet passage.
If you don t like what is playing on a channel, you can fast forward it by holding
down the forward button. If you want to hear something again, you can press the
back button. If you want to pause the channel, press the forward and back butto
ns at once. If you press forward or back it won t disturb anyone else listening to
that channel.
A central computer on the third floor runs the entire sound system. It has digit
al versions of the CD, tape, DVD and MP3 collections on a giant hard disk. You c
an compose what is to be played on the various channels by sitting at the centra
l computer. You can add optional voice introductions to each segment. You can al
low different meanings for the channels for each member or guest of the househol
d. That way nursery rhymes won t clutter your channels and your adult materials wo
n t clutter the channels of the children.
How does the computer know who is using which outlet so it knows which set of ch
annels to apply? You might simply assign specific outlets to various housemember
s and guests. More sophisticated technology would allow a guest to identify them
selves.
A prototype implementation could use portable MP3 players and USB ports to downl
oad a few hour s worth of sound into them at at time. However, that would not give
you live feeds. A memory card in the MP3 player with a wireless LAN port would
give you live feeds.
Eventually you want video, telephone, voice dictation, voice messaging and inter
com service distributed by the same integrated system.
Plumbing
The plumbing fixtures are:
ultra-durable built to last for generations.
brushed nickel-coloured finish that will look good for generations.
very plain, sturdy, ergonomic design, not trendy. Think Paul Revere silver desig
ns. No ornamental doo-dads.
dual lever, wide set so no confusion about how to operate.
extremely easy to clean, no crevices.
I scoured the Internet looking for bathroom faucets. I could find not a one that
met these criteria. I thought perhaps I should be looking under industrial desi
gns to find something suitable. I want to avoid the industrial gleam though.
Washroom floors are covered in non-slip tile, gently sloping to a drain. This au
tomatically handles spills and makes it possible to rapidly clean the entire was
hroom with a pressure hose.
There is a unisex flush-type urinal on each floor. Males use them the traditiona
l way; females back up and hover. These use less water to flush that a full toil
et. A more traditional design would use wall-hung flush toilets that are easier
to clean than floor-mounted ones.
There is a composting toilet on the ground floor and a flush toilet in the basem
ent.
What s Missing
What this particular version of the house does not have is:
a garage
a dining room
a living room
elevators
dumbwaiters
lawn
I deliberately left these out because we would only rarely use them.
A simple plastic sheet could serve as a garage.
The kitchen and basement could be transformed to act as dining room and living r
oom for special occasions.
Removing elevators encourages exercise.
Lawns need to be big, flat and well maintained to be much use. A sloping propert
y is not the place for them.
Outstanding Questions
How small can you make the house? How small can you get it for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 peo
ple?
How do you construct access to the roof without wasting heat or letting in water
?
What should it be constructed of?
Where stained glass is used, how do you insulate?
How do you ventilate?
How do you stop the top floors from getting too hot?
How do you recycle the heat from the computers on the home office floor?
Where does the cistern belong?
Where do you put the photovoltaic and solar hot water panels?
How to make it more energy efficient? What is the best way to collect and store
heat
How do you stop burglars, vandals or other unpleasant people from doing damage?
What have I neglected to consider?