The Incredible Edible House
Written by Euphrasia Carroll
Inhabitat.com, devoted to “design that will save the world,” recently came up with a feature that’s so unique it’s definitely worthy of sharing in our “Odd” category.
“The Incredible Edible House of the Future,” by Bridgette Steffen, is all about an energy-efficient, sustainable 3-story house that doubles as a vertical garden. “The Edible House is constructed out of three prefab containers stacked on top of one another. As prefab and container homes become more popular, the house of the future will very likely contain a number of prefab elements, which reduce resource consumption and are more efficient to produce over the long run. Since the three containers are stacked on top of each other, the home’s footprint is quite small, which as the designers say, is a ‘nod to the importance of building dense, urban-style houses in order to reduce energy use.’ The three floors house the eating and living space on the bottom, sleeping rooms in the middle, and office/studio space along with a glorious deck on the top.”
What’s really amazing, though, is the hydroponic skin that covers the living quarters with a multitude of plant, vegetables, and fruits. Imagine growing tomatoes, arugula, chick peas, and green tea right on the sides of your house. Not only will you cut back on trips to the market, but these living walls on the outside of the house act to reduce heat gain to the house, thus reducing cooling load, and they are watered with a rainwater collection system.
This “Green House of the Future” was designed by Rios Clementi Hale Studios and was featured in the Wall Street Journal, too. Rios Clementi Hale Studios creates “singular, integrated, and comprehensive solutions for environmental design challenges.” Their gallery of projects is inspiring for out-of-the-box solutions and stunning architectural and landscape designs.
In the Wall Street Journal article about the House, Alex Frangos said, “The Wall Street Journal asked four architects to design an energy-efficient, environmentally sustainable house without regard to cost, technology, aesthetics, or the way we are used to living. The U.S. Energy Department estimates buildings are responsible for 39% of our energy consumption and a similar percentage of greenhouse-gas emissions. The growing awareness of that fact helps explain why green building is one of the most pervasive trends in the construction industry -- even as the economy struggles and home-building is at its lowest level in a generation.”
It’s not surprising to learn that Rios Clementi Hale is based in Los Angeles and “has a reputation for playful and innovative designs. Among its many projects, it has done designs for Hollywood powers such as Walt Disney’s Robert Iger and movie and music impresario David Geffen.”
You may not be quite ready to hire builders for your own edible house, but staying abreast of creative solutions such as this one can open your mind to possibilities, and give you food for thought (pun intended).
What others have said
Clever beyond comprehension to a person who lives in their brick veneer, in a small court with their two cars. Great concept and one that should be more common place in our increasing green belt communities. There is little, or no excuse for today buildings not to include eco design that is both attractive and yes, edible.
Brilliant concept and imagine the planet if all of our homes were built with such thought for the environment.
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Hm! This is a fabulous design, though I must say it is not unique to Bridgette as I and many others in my adopted country chose to live with green homes in the late 1980's.
This point aside, the garden and house in one, is a brilliant way to live. Not only is it ecological brilliant, the color and the smells it adds to your home is immeasurable.