Moon Rocks or Modular Housing? The APEX System
Written by Jennifer Heyns
Odd doesn't even begin to describe the ADEX sustainable modular housing structure. For starters, it looks like a cluster of crystallized moon rocks.
The project took first place in an advanced architectural contest, and is meant to be interchangeable, adaptable, sustainable and portable in nature. Each module consists of several triangular panels that can be constructed in various ways to give each ADEX structure a singular shape and size.
The initial ideas behind the housing system are:
- To adapt the structure to the environment of any home site.
- To use that site’s natural resources to sustain the inhabitants of the home and recycle that home’s waste back into more natural resources.
Although the manufacturer boasts that the structures are suitable for any site, they also note that only sites that provide the right resources will be able to host an ADEX home that is self-sustaining. They also admit that in order to be truly sustainable, the optimal setting would be an entire neighborhood of the structures working together.
What is truly genius about the ADEX system is its method of turning waste into natural gas. A bio-digester located under the structure’s kitchen floor collects biomass in the form of food waste, which it then converts into gas and feeds back into the home’s cooking appliances. Another biomass collection unit can be situated next to a garden to help with the gas production.
The structures also contain elements for using wind, water and home solar power, but again, only if it’s situated on the right piece of property. How exactly all of these systems work, what the panels are made of, how they’re interchangeable and what the interior of such a multi-angled structure looks like have all been left a mystery. The ideas are sound and definitely intriguing, but what are left to the imagination are too many variables about the system’s viability.
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I am sure this structure is fantastic and is just as thrilling from the inside. However, it does not appeal to me personally as an option for modular housing. Okay, maybe if the colors were more subdued it could look great in a natural treed setting. Yeah, It could work!