I was thrilled/flattered to have been chosen a ways back (My VT Cabin- built by myself and my younger brother Dustin) for Mimi Zeiger's brand new book "Micro-Green"- which in all honestly, is one of the cooler, more-bizarre, photographic, micro-house/tiny housing tomes that I've seen in awhile. Beyond that, Mimi just informed me that
Archidose.org (a great architectural blog) singled out both myself and Michael Janzen (of
tinyhousedesign.com) as two of the more noteworthy D.I.Y. structures in this vast collection. This is definitely a surprise to me, and rather unexpected, as some of the mini houses in this book are pretty damn fantastic n' just outright wild.
Here's the review here.... (and you can click further below to check out Mimi's book- which JUST hit stores).
Micro Green is Brooklyn-based freelancer
Mimi Zeiger's follow-up to
Tiny Houses from 2009. In the earlier book the houses range in area from two digits to four, and roughly the same applies in the new title, which starts with a 43-sf (4 sm) "Mobile Eco Second Home" and ends with a 1,722-sf (160 sm) villa in Vals, Switzerland. In between the 34 other projects are arranged accordingly, from micro to tiny to small to not-so-big. Yet as the full title of Zeiger's latest makes clear, the focus of the collection is not just size but eco-conscious living and a Thoreau-esque retreat into nature. (One must turn to
Tiny Houses for city living.)
The collection is quite diverse in terms of design and geography, but most are quite photogenic, the hand of talented architects. A couple houses have been featured on my web pages previously (
Rolling Huts,
Chen House), and Zeiger's book influenced me with three projects creatively
incorporating logs. Yet two projects, Michael Janzen's
Tiny Free House and Derek and Dustin Diedrickson's
Backwoods Skyscraper, stand out from the rest because they are not self consciously architecture with a capital A. They are respectively built from shipping palettes and salvaged doors, windows, and plywood, and they exhibit more than just a DIY
aesthetic; they are DIY
living, off the grid, for oneself and one's family. While they look like they might not support day-to-day living, they do just that. Ironically many of the other projects are not houses per se; they are cabins or other shelters for short-term living, not contemporary examples of Thoreau's move to the woods.
(from archidose.org)
ARCHIDOSE's "NARROW HOUSES" review...
Narrow Houses by McGill University Professor
Avi Friedman also looks at small houses (not nearly as small as
Micro Green), "ecologically sensitive homes ... no more than 25 feet (7.6 meters) in width." Infill lots in cities come to mind, but townhouses comprise only nine of the 28 projects collected here. The rest are detached dwellings, some in urban conditions but most removed from the confines that reduce the benefits of building a narrow house, mainly the cross-ventilation on the long sides that is almost impossible to achieve with infill houses. That the majority of the projects are small houses (most are under 1,500 sf / 140 sm) on large plots of land points to a responsibility on the part of clients and architects towards reducing house sizes and increasing performance in terms of sun and wind. This also points to a reconsideration of the suburban ideal, the large energy-hungry home surrounded by lawn. Lessons towards this shift can be gleaned from these project, just as lessons towards dealing with tight urban lots (especially in terms of natural light) can be found in the townhouse chapter.
Following the presentation of the 28 projects are four thorough essays by Friedman: design principles, site and plan considerations, interiors, and a historical chronology of narrow-front homes. While this last section is geared at a lay audience more than architects, the latter benefit from their inclusion in the book, as various considerations towards dealing with narrow lots and designing narrow houses are collected in one place. These essays can be seen as an outcome of the efforts of McGill's Affordable Homes program, which Friedman heads; all then informs the selection of the preceding projects. Together the writing and case studies offer valuable information and precedents for architects and clients aiming to build a narrow house either out of circumstance or responsibility.
-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen
few weeks ago I posted an article about the world's most loveable "big-kid" designer, Derek "Deek" Diedricksen, whose mini dwellings have captured attention for being at once imaginative and functional. You can explore his structures in his YouTube series, "Tiny Yellow House" and also his book, "Humble Homes Simple Shacks Cozy Cottages Ramshackle Retreats Funky Forts," which we will be reviewing soon, once we have sufficiently pored over it from cover to cover! After contacting him, Deek very kindly agreed to do an exclusive interview for our blog, which I want to share with you all here.
My father, Glenn, also gave me the book "Tiny Houses" by Lester Walker for my 10th birthday, which was another one of the catalysts that showed me that it was OK to keep an interest in this alive into adulthood. That, along with him and my mother, Sigrid, being very supportive and tolerant of the childhood construction projects of me and my brother, laid the groundwork for my future and current "obsession" with all this. My father was also a high school woodworking teacher in Guilford, CT- which didn't hurt either in terms of knowledge and the array of available tools at home., 
I think a lot of that depends on the materials I have on hand, my mood, and what chunk of time I might, or might not have in the forseeable future. With kids, another book in the works, a side job doing other forms of carpentry, being involved with two bands, and running my blog, among other things, its sometimes real tough to squeeze in these micro-shelter projects- but I often do. Many times it just comes down to what's striking my fancy, or what is freshest in my mind- which is always changing, design-wise. For example, I'd like to begin work on a shanty-boat I've been plotting in my head (and somewhere on a napkin at best), but that's on the back burner because we're still stuck in frigid temperatures out here in New England.
Funny you mention it, even if in jest, as I'd LOVE, and need, to have one, but my schedule is so erratic, I really don't ever know how I'd work things out. Its also tough to find someone you completely click with in terms of carpentry and construction. Two is often a crowd and the "helper" ends up getting in the way unfortunately. My brother Dustin is the only person I can really and truly read the mind of in terms of projects, and the same goes the other way around- he's the one person I don't even have to speak to, and he understands what needs to be done. He and I can build for hours without even communicating in some cases- its almost bizarre. Unfortunately he's a full time environmental engineer, and a brand new dad, so time-wise he's out. BUT he will be helping out with our July 9th workshop in Massachusetts. But yeah, down the road, heck, I just might need a carpentry crew if things continue at this pace.
