Affordable Houses

This modest summer house was designed by Heliotrope Architects for the retired couple. The site located in Whidbey Island and area of this house is about 2,300 square feet. The main idea was to create a comfortable accommodation for two and for guests as well. The Multiny Bay is divided into two parts. The Northern part of the house is more private and includes bedrooms and bathrooms. The Southern structure encloses public functions; there are living, dining and kitchen areas there. It is a typical country house with beautiful views over the water, where you can relax and hold family meetings around the fireplace.

When planning this house Andrew Maynard had an objective of creating a contemporary compact house on a limited site in the dense Melbourne’s block. He accomplished the mission brilliantly by designing a very simple and good looking structure basing on the existing walls. These boundary walls were there for many years which is why they are so massive and tall – two of those walls are at the same time house walls. Nowadays it’s forbidden to build such a high fence. The facade of the house is of glass and decorated by wide aluminum plates that are actually the unique feature of this building and give some additional privacy and shade. The little patio is planned very efficiently and has a small swimming pool (or is it Jacuzzi?). Inside of the house is a big hall, and only one actually, with a terrace. It looks quite extraordinary and contributes to the house’s uniqueness.

This contemporary compact house is located in South Africa. It was built in about 4 days and at quite a small price. Impossible? Not with the new Ecomo technology of modular construction which allows to build the house in any place and of any size using as many modules as you need. The modules are custom made and mostly of wood so the resulting houses are green to the environment not to mention the solar panels on the roof. During the summer or in the hot geography this house is absolutely autonomous and doesn’t even needs the power line. Building a house from blocks affords high efficiencies – there almost no waste, eliminating of which is usually expensive. For more information check out the Ecomo’s web site here.

This quirky lakeside house by architecturalpolka has been awarded for its originality three times in 2010 by the Texas Society of Architects Design, the AIA Austin, and the Residential Architect Grand Design Award. The design of this house can be described as stripped architecture because its very simplistic and modern and that is why its Mod Cott. All possible tricks are used for economy and efficiency – there are large solar panels on the roof, rain collectors, and sustainable materials too – the construction is mostly of steel and wood. This is the greenest house indeed. But even with all those advantages many internet users found this home a bit too cold and unfriendly for its cold concrete floors and gloomy gray colors.

This house has been built to replace the old owner’s building on the site. The client’s wish was to make a two storey opened area connecting the living room and the garden and it was successfully fulfilled. The house has been planned and constructed with effectiveness and economy in mind – there is a water tank to collect and reuse water, a lot of opening windows for good ventilation, mostly light and practical finishings used for all surfaces to reduce sun heating. This is a very practical residence for one family, plus there are guest bedroom and bathroom on the main level.