Two years ago, the American Institute of Architects put up a challenge: design a house in which a US Fish and Wildlife Service Ecologist in Residence could live and conduct research. Challenge met. Many unique ideas were put forward and three designs took away awards. Two are very…unique…as innovative prefabs tend to be, and so I liked the third the best because it has the eco-technology without losing the home-sweet-home feeling.

Two Spanish architects, Raphaelle and Alfredo Maul of Maul Dwellings, have designed The Landscape House, blending practical ecological science with architectural art.

The Landscape House is designed to be sat on an east-west axis in rural West Virginia. Its double roof system utilizes wind to improve air circulation, operable louvered shutters on both the north and south maximize passive solar heating and daylighting, and power comes from a photovoltaic system installed on the roof. Rainwater is harvested and stored under the roof for grey water for fixtures, and is also used as a heat source in cold Virginia winters as it circulates through the radiant heat floor system. A solar dehumidifier provides the drinking water.

Using resources like water efficiently is a priority, so the architects included low-flow fixtures. They also included a dry-compost toilet, recycling area, and compost unit. And of course the environmental footprint is way up there on the to-do list, so the materials for creating The Landscape House are locally sourced, recycled and renewable, and the house can be easily taken apart and set up in different locations.

I don’t think there’d be any problem in finding a number of people who would want to live in it – I’d live in it! (Then again, I’d also live in a prefab upside down canoe, as long as it is awesome and as off-grid as possible.) So, now the only thing left to do is actually build it.

Via Inhabitat

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