Before the development of the freeway system, the main mode of transportation on Puget Sound was a series of privately owned ferries collectively known as the ‘Mosquito Fleet‘. The community of Fragaria was built at this time around a ferry stop that served the farmers and families of Kitsap County in Washington State. The famed steamship ‘Virginia V‘ harbored at Fragaria at this time and a small community of tiny cabins were built around what was then the ticket/post office and general store. Most of the houses were built on piers to take advantage of the terrain, known as ‘stilt houses’ Fragaria is one of a handful of remaining communities around Puget Sound built with this method.
Guest post by Joel Lee.
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The Great Recession has forced millions of Americans to go on a spending diet. Many have lost their homes and have scaled back. But not for everyone. Let’s take a closer look at rightsizing with Matthew Hofman of Hofman Architecture.
For Matthew Hofmann, living with less in a smaller space is his choice. He prefers it, and it’s not hard to see why. “Ever since I was a kid building 7-story tree houses I’ve liked reusing old stuff and making it usable again,” says its owner Matthew Hofmann, owner and founder of Hofmann Architecture, who spent the past eight months restoring the 25-foot Airstream. “It’s not only beautiful, it’s also useful.” “I’m at a point in my life where I’m trying to live with less” says Hofmann, who parked the Airstream on a Montecito home site that burned down in the Tea Fire.
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The current penchant for converting shipping containers into domiciles continues with this strangely attractive Texas playhouse, guesthouse and garden retreat in San Antonio by Jim Poteet of Poteet Architects, LP. Shipping containers are a readily available resource thanks to their abandonment at seaports. It’s often cheaper for companies to simply buy a new container than ship an empty one home, so thousands languish in sprawling container storage facilities around harbors throughout the world.
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At first glance, this 600 square foot modern home, designed and built by students at the Taliesin Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, looks like a Transformer unfolding.
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What reason is so important or so costly that anyone could continue building new homes that are not usable by some members of our society? It seems that all new houses should allow seniors and those with limited abilities to maintain a degree of independence in their home. Simple, everyday activities such as going through doorways, opening windows, using a dishwasher, or taking a bath can be extremely difficult for some people. Including a few special features in home design can make these activities possible and even easy.
Image by Kate Ferris via Flickr - © All Rights Reserved
This is a guest post by Mike Kephart of Kephart Living, LLC, a design and consulting firm dedicated to the support and resurgence of the Sidekick Home or Accessory Dwelling Unit with offices in Denver, CO.
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