Camping Pods

Glorified camping. Check these custom pods. A unique, eco-friendly, custom residence for a family that grew up with a passion for the area.

Three individual, distinctive pods for bathing, sleeping and living were all fabricated off site as to not to disturb the natural surrounds and then carefully integrated with the roof structure and deck system once delivered.

Indoor/outdoor living highlighted with some killer local custom hardwoods and corrugated metal cladding.

Energy efficient by design. This place is fully equipped with rainwater storage tanks, solar hot water and electrical panels and community water recycling.

via Fresh Home

Community Collaboration

A sweet example of community collaboration in the design and overall feel of this hip little San Francisco tavern. It's Bar Agricole. The architect, Aidlin Darling Design, worked closely with local artists and craftsmen to bring this place together.

Design inspiration was drawn upon by some of the establishments sustainable agricultural characteristics. They have a small garden housing citrus fruit trees and herbs.

A fresh and hip mix of reclaimed white oak (salvaged from old whiskey barrels), steel and board formed concrete.

These booths are genius. They're a custom mold fabricated in concrete. Once again, displaying more local love.

photos via Remodelista

Garage Rehab

There are times when local codes will not allow you to completely tear a structure down and reconstruct from scratch. That's when you get creative. Here's a cool example from Seattle. It was an old 1920's single car garage that was ready to fall down. The plan was to give it some new life and maximize the space for the homeowner. This place kicks some ass now.

They raised the existing structure, then carved out and excavated for a new foundation that now serves as a mechanical room, storage and workshop for the owner. The dirt from the foundation was used to create new landscaped terraces.

A little cozy up in the loft area but something has to give when you're working with 320 square feet.

I like the use of all the wood from floor to ceiling and the contrast of the high gloss in the ceiling to the dull matte of the floors. And that is a structural steel column in the middle of the kitchen. Just throw some pots and pans on it and call it a pot rack. Sweet improvising.

Check out the architects, SHED here

Photos via Remodelista

Revitalize and Renovate

Lance Armstrong has a new headquarters in Austin. It's a revitalization project and the place is sweet. They took an old warehouse from the 50's, gutted the space and blew out the roof. In the process of redesigning, the new roof allows for a ton of natural light. They also took the wood from the existing roof structure, re-milled it and used it to create these small individual offices. The idea was to create an interior neighborhood.

It's cool that they are giving back to the community and making the effort to try and turn the neighborhood around. In the process, they've put out some great architecture. I like how the message in the overall design ties into his message - LiveStrong.

photos via ArchDaily

Beet Squad

Today it's all about the wife and her crew, The Beet Squad. They are involved in a competition to Reinvent Fast Food on www.yoxi.tv

Yoxi is an online competition where teams of 3 use videos they create to compete and come up with creative solutions to social issues. Reinventing Fast Food is the social issue they are competing for and they have come up with a pretty kick ass idea called FoodSurge.

FoodSurge is an online daily deal site that links proprietors, producers and passionate people who all want to eat real food. By creating a web of support, they are able to keep costs down, create a risk free experience for restaurants and producers, and also give the public the options they want.

The Beet Squad is one of the top two finalists and the last round of voting started yesterday and ends tonight at midnight PST. You can go to yoxi and vote here for The Beet Squad. Just make sure you are signed in before voting.

To learn more about The Beet Squad and see the rest of their videos, check out their page here or go to www.thebeetsquad.com

Building & Architecture in the Utah Desert

This is Design Build Bluff and it was started by Hank Louis at the University of Utah School of Architecture. It's about designing and building sustainable, low maintenance, cost effective houses in the Navajo Nation in Southern Utah. I love it and think it's brilliant. It started as a project to promote hands-on experience in building and architecture back in 2000 and totally took off.
The program involves 22 grad students (they built the model in the photo above) who live out in Bluff, Utah for a semester and build a home for a member of the Navajo Nation. So crazy. I think it sounds amazing. Now before they head out to the desert to build, they spend the entire previous semester selecting a family in need of a home and then work closely with them to customize it to fit their specific needs. It's such a cool program and the stories behind the families are so good. It's worth checking out.


Design Build Bluff


Hank Louis


photos via Design Build Bluff

Custom and Efficient

Is it about quality of life or is it about square footage? I feel as though people are starting to really evaluate that question more and more. There has been a ton of talk lately about the demise of the McMansion. I agree. It's dead. Don't get me wrong, people will still build large, bad ass homes - no doubt. And I'll gladly help you do it. However, I feel the mind set it totally different. When I think of building for the quality of life, I immediately considered it a custom home. It makes no difference how big or small. It's about how you will use the space, and being efficient in how the contractor and designer will bring it all together.

If you're interested, the New York Times has a unique article about the smaller more efficient home.

photo by Tim Capaldi