Introduction

After analyzing the many different non-toxic housing approaches detailed in the Gallery of Housing Concepts, it's now time to focus attention on a single specific design for my non-toxic home. This page will function as the 'front end' for this with a number of pages branching off for the separate sections of the project.

Trying to decide which of the many different possible forms of non-toxic housing is going to be best suited to my needs has been a challenge. The logistics have proven complex and difficult. Several key issues, however, have led me to my choice.

First, it has become clear to me that I no longer have the ability to invest any substantial sweat-equity toward the home's construction. My health has become too poor, I am too far away from all likely building sites, and I have no adequate facilities locally to pre-fabricate anything of large size. The project will be largely dependent on volunteer labor or hired contractors.

Second, it seems highly unlikely that any large number of volunteer workers will be forthcoming for this project because the probable rural building sites may be difficult to reach and my support will likely be very geographically dispersed. So the construction methods used must call for a minimum number of volunteers working for a relatively short period of time.

Third, to maximize the amount of support I may get I need a design which is attractive, novel, and offers a variety of different ways people can contribute/participate. The home design must seem at once interesting yet not extravagant or improbable. It needs to be easy for people to understand and have a fairly broad appeal, something people can readily visualize in its finished form and easily imagine ways in which they can participate.

Fourth, the fact that I will be far away from any likely site demands construction with a relatively 'foolproof' design. I will be unable to provide on-sight supervision and the project may have to integrate contributions from people in different distant places. So it needs to be achievable with low precision -minor mistakes must be precluded by the building system or at least have little to no functional impact should they occur.

Fifth, in a rural location it is not advisable to leave construction work dormant for any great length of time when there may be no one nearby to keep watch on the site over extended periods. Vandalism and theft is a big problem in rural America. So a high speed of construction is a must. Key portions of the structure must be quickly completed and be highly resilient.

Sixth, because this home must function both as shelter and a place of work high flexibility is necessary. My hope for relocation is to stop and possibly reverse the decline of my health with the intent to be able to once again seek home based employment. It's not clear precisely what form of work I may ultimately find so the home needs to be able to accommodate different things.

Finally, it must be relatively inexpensive, both in construction and use to make the most of what financial help may be forthcoming and what little income I have.

Considering these key issues, I have come to the conclusion that the most practical choice is a single storey pavilion home. A pavilion home consists basically of a free-standing clear-span roof structure over a concrete slab enclosed by panels of glass or other materials. It's interior is organized by its furnishings and light or free-standing partitions. It represents the simplest of all housing forms with the lowest labor overhead, fastest on-site construction, and widest possible choice of non-toxic building materials and structural systems, and the widest variety of sites it can accommodate. A lack of load bearing interior walls -and in some cases any fixed walls at all- presents a blank canvas for interior design. This also affords it unlimited flexibility for accommodating different kinds of work, either in the main structure or nearby duplicate ones dedicated to work. It will integrate any kind of alternative energy or utilities technology with ease. There are many ways to make this work and many people in many different industries and professions who could provide what is needed. Being a structure common to many Modernist classics, it offers a potentially appealing subject to design magazines and increases the potential for interest from architects, designers, and commercial sponsors. And it's simplicity of structure and composition makes it easy for people to visualize.

It is not the absolute cheapest approach but that very low cost is only possible employing methods dependent on extremely large volumes of free labor, such as earthen construction methods. Since that's unlikely this is probably the lowest cost approach that is practical in this situation. Yet as low cost as this can be, it offers a potential appearance that is very sophisticated. I suspect that the finished result could be indistinguishable from some of the most elegant Modernist residences known. It is true that architect designed homes of this type have generally been very expensive but that has nothing to do with the type of structure itself. Rather, it usually relates to the functionally unnecessary use of materials, fabrication and finishing techniques, and interior furnishings of very high cost for sake of their aesthetic effect. The flexibility of this type of structure allows homes of perfectly equal performance and comfort to be as expensive or as frugal as one desires. It's just a matter of what aesthetic point you want to make - or how you want to squander money.

There are several ways this could be built using non-toxic materials. Which approach the project uses will depend on what donation of materials and skilled work is forthcoming. The traditional approaches among the famous Modernist architects have been to use either a custom crafted welded steel frame or heavy solid or engineered lumber frame. These, however, tend to be unnecessarily expensive approaches. The more cost effective, and therefore more likely, approaches would be based on re-applying some prefabricated structure, using prefabricated modular steel, chemical-free wood, or aluminum parts, or masonry in the form of ferro-cement in one of several variations. (slip-formed concrete, foamed concrete, pumice-crete, or ferro-cement panel) I tend to see the use of a pre-fab park shelter structure, a modular aluminum framing system, or the use of ferro-cement panel as being the most likely approaches. Whatever the construction method, the design of the home will tend to be roughly the same -this itself one of the virtues of this pavilion home approach. Put simply, we're creating a free-standing loft apartment. The chief difference will be in the use of raised or on-grade floor and the type of foundation system supporting that. Most of the likely structures will employ a simple slab foundation built independently of the pavilion structure itself. However, in the case of the use of modular framing systems the use of a raised floor deck integral to the pavilion structure is more likely and would use modular prefabricated foundation blocks -like the Pin Pier Foundation- rather than a concrete slab. This is cheaper than a slab but tends to pass on any savings to a cost of added floor deck structure in the pavilion itself. Ultimate square footage is expected to be in the region of 1500sf accommodating both living and work space. A second structure will be needed for car port and utilities. (water tank, battery array for solar power, etc.)

This project will have three basic phases. The first phase is the planning, location, and design phase and for this phase I'm calling for volunteers willing to aid in property seach in the locations noted in the Location page, for designers willing to work on architectural and interior designs for the home, and for companies, contractors, and individuals willing to provide the land, basic components, materials, and utilities equipment for the home. The second phase is the construction phase and for that I'm calling for volunteers to provide construction labor and possible transportation for goods that require it. The third phase is the outfitting and move-in phase and for this I'm calling for volunteers to fabricate non-toxic furnishings, provide major appliances, transport for the possessions I'm moving, and if possible an appropriate form of reduced-toxic transportation for myself. I may also need someone to provide house-sitting as the home is finished and my move prepared. On the following pages linked below I present itemized listings for all the specific elements/items needed in each phase. These will be updated as work progresses, the final home design is developed, and offers of aid materialize.

Design Page

Phase One List

Phase Two List

Phase Three List