#21 - Hiatus

After a long discussion, Maria and I have decided that we need to put our mission to build a house entirely out of the free section of craigslist on hold until June 2011. We have found ourselves overwhelmed as we have entered the last year of the UW Master's in Landscape Architecture program... and the thesis writing process and... learning to stand unassisted and.... learning to eat solid foods and... Italian History and... public art installations (etc. etc.).....

We still feel that the exploration of alternative design and dwelling is very exciting and we feel that we won't be able to accomplish much with so many other obligations nagging at us on a daily basis. Maria and I are all or nothing kind of girls... and it bothers us to not be able to pursue something full force!

Thank you for following our journey thus far, and please post links or interesting articles - or ideas as you have them. Who knows, maybe you will even hear from us prior to June 2011. Happy October 2010 - June 2011. Hugs. Kristi & Maria

Day #20 - Going underground

Long story short, I was browsing architectural competitions and found an interesting one for the Ashanti Region of Ghana http://www.nkafoundation.org/competitions.html . As I pondered what I would design there (maybe enter the competition if I can find some time?) I thought it would be interesting to create underground/mound houses built into the landscape. It would also be interesting to add zones for reforestation and food gardens integrated into the development. This led me to look for architecture that was truly integrated in the landscape in the most literal sense of the idea. I did a quick search and stumbled upon Peter Vetsch. http://www.erdhaus.ch/main.php?fla=&lang=en&cont=start

This could truly be the solution for "unbuildable" lots that contain steep slopes in Seattle! :) It also redfines the concept of a green roof!