You know houseboats, you know cars that are build to swim or tanks. But can you image to live on water in a  real hous? That is reality for example in Nigeria, where the people of Makoko build their houses on stilts above the lagoon.  What is tradition there, might be a model idea which other parts in the world can adopt to.

Rising sea levels due to climate change will force many people to leave their homes and migrate to places that won’t be covered with water in future time.

Facing this Scenario, the Maledive Islands government had an unusual idea: floating islands. They cooperate with a Dutch arcitechtural company to build artificial islands that stay above, no matter how much the sea level rises.

Do you think this is a proper idea to realize on large scale?

The idea of building your own green home from start to finish can be a daunting one, especially because a lot of eco-friendly design can be pretty expensive. But the Guardian recently featured a cheap and really quick option: a German company called Meisterstück Haus creates pre-built panels and pieces for your house, and builders can put it all together in just 3 days. That doesn’t include the time it takes to add plumbing and electricity and everything else you might need in a home, but it’s still pretty impressive, especially for a 3-bedroom house!

The houses are made of sustainable materials and insulated to be air-tight, which can drastically cut down on heating consumption and costs in the winter.

Is your house eco-friendly? How?

Our friends @treehugger.com postet a pretty nice and green idea, even if the reason for it was not that nice. The rents in Beijing are very high, so designer Daihai Fei built a wonderful little green house wich we think you should know as well.

 

The house has a bamboo frame, covered with various insulating materials, on top is a layer of stitched bags. These bags are filled with sawdust and grass seeds, that gives the house a grassgreen look and, not to forget, a good protection-system. Inside is everything you need, a bed, a sink & a lamp wich is powered by a small solar panel on top of the house.

The grass is growing, slow, but it does.

The solar panel is nicely integrated into the roof. Daihai Fei built the whole thing for only 6,400 yuan ($960).

(ke)