noisylime

Very simple website using a slider effect to scroll the entire background image. Displaying multiple architect projects.

Here’s a great example of marrying efficient production methods with a nice-looking and fully functional design. Snag a set in a black or brushed nickel finish, punch out at will — just don’t mess up! Matt Carr’s Numbra house number system for Umbra gives your house a digit-lift for a thrifty $11.00.

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Dutch architecture firm Hofman Dujardin has just designed BloomFrame, a window that you can convert into a balcony. It’s like having a convertible in your own home. This is a great idea for those of us who like to practice our barbecue grill artistry, but are reluctant to do so within the confines of our apartments.

Since these window/balconies can be installed in existing buildings, soon it may be time to start pressuring that landlord of yours to put balconies everywhere. This might be a big hit with smokers. If this technology catches on, maybe someday we can all dine or toke al fresco.

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Think Small looks at the trend of tiny second homes (500 square feet and under). Less house means less upkeep, energy, and waiting are required.

Minimal square footage means reduced maintenance costs, less upkeep and reduced energy consumption. Prefabricated and pre-built models can require little or no site preparation, which means no anxious weekend drives to the country to make sure construction is moving along. Add to this an element of instant gratification (once the planning stage is over, most houses go up in days, even hours, and many are delivered, turn-key, to the site).

There’s an audio slide show of a some different tiny homes too.

Reminds me of that Geico “Tiny House” commercial.

[via Signal vs. Noise]

Not so long ago we promised a report on architect and designer Charlie Lazor’s Flatpak House. Just like flatpack furniture, the house comes in flat pieces that are assembled on site to cut down on cost and environmental impact. Many prefab housing manufacturers aren’t so keen on the idea of a modernist house, so Lazor went straight to the source: glass panels (clear or sandblasted), wall panels (timber, metal, hardiboard, or concrete), and other components come from different suppliers, converging only when they are delivered to the site. If a manufacturer has a local franchise, shipping emissions can be reduced further. Lazor lives in one configuration of the 8′ by 8′ grid system; other possible layouts are shown in a PDF on the website. But who says you’re limited by that? The first step to designing a Flatpak house is playing about with stickers on a floorplan grid. Then you send your creation in and tell the architects about the site. Prefab it may be, but the design is initiated by you. And you might actually be able to afford it, too: the PDF also tells you exactly what will be included in the estimated $130-$145 per square foot, a comparable price to the NowHouse also billing itself as affordable modern prefab.

http://flatpackhouse.com/flatpak.htm