Designed by Scott Specht studio architecture Spect Harpman Architects, the “Zero House” is a prefabricated house of 200 square meters totally autonomous and environmentally friendly. The roof is made of solar panels that provides electricity so you don’t have to worry about electricity and the power is then stored in a battery backup. Once completely charged, the home can run efficiently for one week without a hint of sunlight. The roof and also includes a tank of rainwater harvesting over 10 cubic meters. The ground floor when it is equipped with a unit of waste composting. The rest of the house features energy saving design strategies including ample daylighting (led lights are used for artificial light requirements), incredibly energy efficient wall assemblies (r-58 in fact), triple glazed windows, and a compact design (reducing overall energy requirements). Initial studies indicate that the home will sell for around $350,000. - Via - Treehugger & Materialicio

The desing of the Upcher House by Bates Masi is a project for a writer and was a study in adaptability and re-use. The house was designed to be both spatially and economically efficient by coordinating the assembly of pre-manufactured components researched over the internet. It is essentially one large room with ancillary spaces that feed off it. The structure is an adjustable cantilevering rock system used in lumberyards. It is comprised of standard steel sizes with an assortment of brackets and arms that can be specified for any type of load or application. Bolted connections secure the steel arms and brackets to the steel columns.

From these appendoges cabinetry is hung, a fireplace mantel is suspended and handrails are applied. They also support the mahogany bookshelves walkway around the perimeter of the library. Prefabricated concrete foundation walls, formaldehyde free water-resistant fiber board, rough sawn akoume wood, aluminium windows, dyed concrete wall panels, pre-assembled wood screens, cabinets from IKEA and gabion retaining walls are the other elements that come together to form the house. The houses’s ability to be adapted and retrofitted, expanded or reduced allows for a mutiplicity of uses and to do so without waste is implicit in the design.