Moodboard architecture
exterior
interior
Sustainability
Sustainable aspects
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Solar Panels
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Double glazed windows
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Good insulation
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Rainwater filter system
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Greenhouse
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Waste materials
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Many windows
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Natural swimming pool
Sketches and floorplans
First floor
Second floor
Third floor
Two point perspective
Front side
Floorplan
Sustainability, location and influence
Sustainability
The sustainable aspects of my house are:
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All windows in my house are double glazed, in order to hold warmth inside, in the winter and hold the cold inside in the summer.
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My house has many windows to make use of natural lighting. This way, I don't have to use artificial light until the sun sets.
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The outside of my house is mostly made of recycled waste materials, to reduce the use of new materials.
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All walls in my house are insulated very well, using multiple layers of insulators.
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I have put solar panels on the roof of my house to make my own electricity.
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I have a rainwater filter next to my house to reuse the rainwater and not buy any water.
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I have a two story high greenhouse where I will produce a percentage of my food, such as vegetables and fruit.
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The swimming pool next to my house is a natural swimming pool filtered by plants and mosses.
Location
My house is located in a place where there is enough sunlight to light up the whole house during the day and so I can make use of my natural swimming pool. However, there also has to be enough rainwater for my rainwater filter, so I can use it as drinking water. My house is located in a calm and quite spot where I can enjoy the peace and silence. My house is detached and the greenhouse is facing the south so that it has the most sunlight during the day. The house will be in a suburb away from the city, because I grow most of my food in the green house and I filter my own water, I only need to go to the supermarket once a week. My neighbours live a couple hundred meters away.
Influence
Because my house is located in a place with much sunlight and rain, I do not have to pay much money for water, since I use the filtered rainwater as drinking water. Also, I will save on heating and cooling costs, since my house is very well insulated. I do live away from the city, but since I only need to go there once a week to go grocery shopping, I save on engine costs too. My natural swimming pool does not need to be cleaned, because ti is self cleaning, which saves cleaning costs. Much sunlight results in more electricity, since I have many solar panels on the roof of my house. This means that I do not have to pay much for my electricity, because I create it myself.
sustainable house progress
Sketch
My sustainable house now has a first floor and is 50% done.
Walls + windows
First floor + greenhouse
Second floor base + walls
Stairs
Second floor walls
Finished second floor
Solar panels + rainwater filter
FINAL PRODUCT
The design
The design of the house is very unique. I wanted the second floor of the house to have rooms that overlap the first floor. This creates a very non-blocky house, as that would be standard. The massive greenhouse in the center of the house is to give the house separation, while it is still open and spacious. This is because the greenhouse has transparent glass. The greenhouse is facing the south, so that it gets sunlight all day long. I wanted to make sure that when you are inside you kind of feel like you are outside, to really give that rural feeling. The natural swimming pool contributes to that too. The materials I used to make this house were mostly cardboard and transparent plastic. The fact that there are diagrams on the cardboard made it look like the house was really made out of waste materials. And it is what gave the house character. I have tried to make the house as sustainable as possible. In order to accomplish this, I added 9 sustainable aspects to this house. What they all are and where they can be found in the house can be read above or be seen in the sales video below.
sustainable house SALE
Reflection
At the beginning of this project I struggled a bit. I did not really have a good idea for my house yet, so I started making a lot of sketches. From that, I decided all the measurements of the house and started gathering my materials. The process of actually making the house went really well. The first floor could have been a little more neat and precise, because there can still be seen a lot of glue. However it was the first floor I did, so it is logical that it does not look the best. When I did the second floor, I knew how to do everything, so that went a lot better. Eventhough I really enjoyed making this house with my own two hands, it did take a lot of time. I probably spent way too many hours on this, because the perfectionist in me kept seeing things that were not good enough, so I kept redoing it. I learned that sometimes enough is enough. I am extremely pleased with how my final house turned out. I never imagined that it would look this good. Still, there are things that I could have done better, such as the roof of the house. It was hard to make it fit, because it also had to be able to be removed to see the second floor. Also, the natural swimming pool does not look very professional.
I worked very hard, and that can be seen in the video as well. I researched a lot about the prices of ground and construction in Brazil and came to the conclusion that building a house in brazil is extremely cheap. I tried my upper best to, as a realtor, sell the house and tell as much good things about the house as possible. In my opinion, the house is extremely sustainable and that is what this project was all about.
What I will do differently next time is making sure to stick to my original idea, because I kept changing the design a little bit because I was not pleased enough. I could have saved myself a lot of trouble with this. Also, I will try to use less glue, so the house looks more neat and nicely finished.