By now, we all know how crucial it is for the well-being of our planet and survival of future generations to reduce our carbon footprint.
But we all have busy lives, and sometimes, adopting a green lifestyle is easier said than done. A new design company is trying make eco-friendly as easy as possible, by creating a home that produces more energy than it consumes.
The cozy 800-square-foot home designed by Australian architecture group, Archibox, is a lightweight mobile home with a solar panel top that produces solar energy, while keeping the interior of the home cooled.
Unlike most homes that rely on mechanical heating and cooling, the naturally ventilated home cools itself with in-ground cooling tubes that pull in air from the south side. A grassy roof, offering added insulation benefits, and innovative vertical garden walls that provide shade, contribute to sustainable building features like these. The home’s energy-efficient appliances use recycled rainwater, which contributes to its carbon-positive design that is expected to offer the environmental benefits of 6,095 trees.
“Archi+ Carbon Positive Houses will make significant contributions within society by addressing the increasing levels of carbon emissions and the high levels of embodied energy that come with the construction of a standard home,” said a company representative. “These homes will give our clients the opportunity to rid themselves of modern day lifelines in a house that has been developed through a collaboration of design sensitivities and new technologies with like-minded companies.”
The single-story prototype contains a sun room that spans the width of the building, and is designed to create a pocket of warm air that will help insulate the interior of the home during winter months. Archibox describes it as the “lungs of the house.”
The house is on display in Melbourne’s City Square, and while it is small, it is an incredibly innovative way of re-shaping the way we view traditional homes.
You might not be living in an Archibox in the immediate future, but don’t be surprised if home developers expand on their eco-friendly concepts pretty soon.
