The Hundertwasserhaus (of Hundertwasserhaus) has become a cultural landmark not just in Vienna where it is located, but for the entire country of Austria.  This is despite the property only being built in the early 1980’s.  The building was the brainchild of academic architects, Professor Joseph Krawina and Peter Pelikan who conceived a property made of deliberately, uneven floors and living materials forming part of the structure and fabric of the house.

The house is actually composed of several apartments and office units and is named after the artist, Friedensreich Hundertwasser, who donated his design and time for free because he did not wish for an ugly building to be built instead.  The home has a roof constructed from earth and grass with trees planted inside the building and constituent rooms with the tree branches extending to the outside through windows build around them.  The Hundertwasserhaus is one of the most visited buildings in the whole of Austria.

photo by munna on the run

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The term “earthship” is a bit of an overstatement. The name connotes an earthen vessel which slowly creeps over the sea or air, perhaps carrying with it a crew representing earth’s only hope. The reality, while cool, is not nearly that cool.

The earthships of reality are made by Earthship Biotecture of Taos, New Mexico and they’re a bit different than your normal house. If green is a trend, earthships are the trend setters. Earthships don’t typically come equipped with things like heating and air conditioning, choosing instead to rely on passive solar technology and recycled tires to control the internal environments.

Many earthships are also built off the grid, using water recycling systems and generating their own electricity through solar and wind harnessing technology. And they look like they’d fit in just fine on Tatooine. I know, that’s two Star Wars references in as many posts. Anyone else sensing a trend here?

Photo by Jennifer May for The New York Times

According to the New York Times article, the owner of this early 19th century farmhouse purchased it knowing fully well how close it sits to train tracks. The poor location apparently drove down the price of the house, a boon in an already down housing market. However, upon viewing this dramatic photo, I have to wonder, did the new owner realize just how close that really is?

[Source]

Post by Accent Building Products, Venting Skylights

This house sure is a doozy, or at least the fall from it is. The archway at the bottom, while sacrificing some stability, is a nice touch. Do you think that the designer of this house likes roofs? As if this house needed to be more top-heavy. My real question is: Where is the electricity coming from to operate that lift? I imagine that it would be a little windy all the way up there. A great little detail that just proves the amazing things people can do with photoshop these days.

I can’t think of a more precarious setting than what’s going on here. Doesn’t it seem that eventually, due to weathering and whatnot, that the gap would keep widening until the house fell through? At least they don’t need a security system or apparently a door for that matter. I just can’t stop wondering where that ladder is coming from…

From the people that brought you ball in a cup comes house on a stick! If you loved trying to get the ball in the cup, then you’ll love trying to not fall in the water walking up and down to your front door. This was actually inspired by billboards as you can easily see. I just can’t seem to get in my head how that box on a pole is stable in the ocean. Of course,  I wouldn’t mind going to work everyday in a speedboat and you’d definitely have plenty of privacy.  One thing’s for sure, you’re not going for a quick jog any time soon.

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It’s exactly what you think it is. This 1.6 million dollar toilet, was designed to promote Sim Jae-Duck’s campaign for cleaner bathrooms around the world and especially in developing countries. He will showcase a state -of-the-art bathroom inside for patrons to come inside and see. The best part: the lid opens automatically as soon as you walk in. Are you jealous and wish you lived inside a toilet, too? If you act now, you can rent the toilet house for only 50,000 clams a day before he moves in on November 11.

This “shell house” is from Japan (there they go again) and was designed by Kotaro Ide. Unfortunately, there is no one angle that you can look at this house from and see all the curves and beauty. They saythat the two sections are supposed to represent a conch, but how they do that is beyond me. All I know is with an exterior like that, who cares about the inside? Although I do imagne I would feel a bit exposed without conventonials walls and being surrounded mostly by windows, but at least there’s plenty of sunlight. I find that it’s a nice balance between modern tastes and blending with the landscape.

The Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo is the world’s first capsule-centered piece of architecture built for actual use. This is probably not a new concept to you, but I think it’s rare that when you can actually see the room for yourself. To me, it looks like a room aboard a spaceship. Just imagine, instead of the neighbors across the way in the window, you can see Earth. Fits quite nicely, doesn’t it? Now imagine putting everything you own in an 8 by 12 by 7 ft space.

What’s really cool is that the versatility of the capsules. They can be connected to make larger spaces and are designed to be replaceable, but they haven’t had to replace one since it was completed in 1972. Each capsule is connected to one of the two main shafts by only four high-tension bolts. Only four bolts are keeping you from falling to your death. Plus, knowing everyone loves airplane bathrooms, the designers saw fit to give each room one!

Those Japanese will do just about anything to get everyone else’s attention.

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