What makes a home comfortable and desireable to live in or buy? Zero Energy Building, Living in an "Ecosphere"

Question

I'm currently designing a building for my last year project in Industrial Design. It's going to be a completely self sustained building, prefabricated but still customizable in the set up.

My question, if you'd build a house or are looking to buy one:

What do you expect or want from a home?

What makes it comfortable?

What luxuries should it have?

How much would you consider destructive natural forces in the design, such as storms, earthquakes, floods and fire?

Have you build or lived in a similar place, and is there anything you'd do different next time?

Answer 1

I've actually been mentally planning my own "green home".

First of all would be climate control.  Both in the structure of the building ,to maintain a comfortable indoor temperature, but also being able to produce enough energy to heat/cool the home by traditional means.  My current thought is with a photovoltaic roof.

Second is lighting, openable skylights in each room will provide free daytime lighting and allow warm air to escape in the summer.

It would need to have some amenities of traditional homes such as adequate storage. separate living/sleeping spaces, and sufficient bathrooms for the number of occupents. (Going down to 1 bathroom might make sense as far as space and resources, but in a home with 6 people, it would just interfere with quality of life too much)

My home will also have indoor space for year round growing of plants and gray water reclamation.

I would absolutely consider destructive natural forces pertinent to the location.

Answer 2

this is interesting as we have begun planning a house to build and we are asking ourselves the same questions

what do i want from a home: - protection, comfort, sanctuary

zero/to low impact on environment. zero to low energy use.

re destructive natural forces: we are looking at the AI Dome home designs but domes have some design limitations and the looks are only so so if you can see it. - you might not as

we are also looking at either earth-bermed or underground.

mostly i think we may go the quonset hut shape with the technology of the AI Dome  type building - the shape lends itself to most home layout but still has a wide open feeling (we dont want a multistory) and if the home is placed partway up a hill we avoid flooding as well. this is also a very fire resistant way to build.

also i would use extensive insulation (i like the bluejean insulation) :)  with those tube skylights - i probably would have more that one section and would connect them,  maybe using shipping containers --putting the containers at least half underground and create window seats along the walls with small horizontal windows that look out on the property (to see wildlife without being seen- as i do a lot of photograpy

the front of the house would have a series of tall vertical narrow windows for letting in light without resorting to needing picture windows (heat loss,  breakability, and security issues with large window masses)

what would i put in it: bamboo or cork flooring thru-out,  a small soapstone masonry woodburning stove in addition to the radiant floor heating and the solar hot-water heating. in one of the extensions i would have a green house environment with water tanks that not only would filter household grey water but would raise small eating fish (mostly tilapia) solar panels would be used for electrical as well as a small windmill. hopefully being fully off grid.

using an open floor plan (the only walls would be ones that could be moved) rather japanese in feel -i would keep the colors soft and warm with pops of color in furniture and art work.  with no carpeting (only cleanable area rugs) and no draperies,  allergins and upkeep would be minimal.

luxuries i would want - a vulcan or wolf gas stove, subzero refrigerator and freezer. the whole house would be lined in bookcases - a large family sized dining table-   computers/tvs would be a necessary luxury in our family  and a place for playing music and working at our arts/crafts -a dark room for my photography

i dont know if we would want animals or not- i like the idea of raising my own chickens and pigs for food but not sure at our age we really want the responsibilty but if we did we would build the barn/henhouse on the same principals of protection and self sufficiancy.

is this the kind of thing you were looking for? it was fun to write--would love to bounce ideas of other like minded people

rj

http://thepatchworkkatt.blogspot.com/