Eko+komplex

Just yesterday, my class and I watched a few videos on "tiny houses." To those of you, who may ask what a "tiny house" is, I will simply say that they are 'shelters' for people, who are brave enough to put energy and financial savings in front of their largest priorities. "Tiny houses" are super-compact houses, which usually consist of a small ground-level floor and a comfortably sized loft. At first, the idea sounded tortuous and a bit extreme.


As I was sitting in my room today, pondering this phenomenon, the idea of "tiny houses" entered the technical housing in my brain. I hurried to my computer, loaded Google SketchUp, and began creating, what I call, an "eko+komplex."

An eko+komplex is a small complex of four tiny houses. Each house occupies an area of about 100 square feet and is about 12 feet tall. Each house receives a majority of its electric power from four solar panel installments. All of the solar panels are connected to the house that they run, and to a generator, which harvests unused electricity, and distributes the energy back into any house in "immediate need" of it.    

The transparent roof which you see hovering over all four houses will be put to use as a greenhouse. Overall, it will trap heat, allowing for the creation of a small garden area. It could also function as a heat source on cooler days.

Although it appears as though all four houses are connected, they are virtually inaccessible to each other (something that should be noted).

Some flaws still exist within the design. For example, eko+komplexes serve as housing for individuals (or couples). Along with this, I must configure how to incorporate other utilities in an "environmentally-friendly" way.

In general, I believe that these tiny complexes could, eventually, benefit individuals, society, and the Earth.   

~Marcus S. :: 5,5,11