A House for an Ecologist : AIA Competition Winners
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA 
on 08. 9.06
Several months back, we mentioned the 2006 Committee on Design Ideas Competition presented by the American Institute of Architects (AIA). The competition looked pretty interesting; it asked entrants to consider the question (among others), "How can environmental innovation contribute directly to design excellence?" The entrants who best addressed this criteria have been announced, and they look pretty good to us. One of the winners (there are three, listed in no particular order) "rejected the notion of what 'House' really is, and said an ecologist really only needs a place to bed down for the night, and a place to go to the bathroom, maybe take a shower, heat up some water," while another "merged technology with aesthetics in a compelling and interesting way and...is quite a beautiful and somewhat soft building that sits nicely in the landscape." When it came to the third (pictured) winner,
"Things seem to be in balance with this particular scheme. It represents what a house for an ecologist needed to be -- it wasn’t privileging one system over another but used a number of systems -- photovoltaic, etc. -- beyond the disassembly. I think it took the premise of the program: house for an ecologist, a single person, and said all of those givens were OK to work with." See all winners, honorable mentions, plus contest details here. ::2006 Committee on Design Ideas Competition via ::MoCo Loco
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I love the idea of the house that is pictured. The roof is separate of the dwelling. I've had this same idea. It takes the brunt of the weather and allows the house to be more lightly built. How about building a roof like this with one of those bamboo houses from Viet Nam under it? Or, heck, how about a nice tent house? Or, cardboard house?
If you ever have to move you take only the house and leave the roof behind for the next resident.
Gosh... take your house with you? I think I do that everytime I'm forced to move because the rent gets too high. :P
Oh, the trials and tribulations of living in New York.