Article on the dozen or so houses in the “batture” of Jefferson Parish in New Orleans, titled: Homes on the Mississippi River batture in Jefferson Parish have whimsical appeal, by R. Stephanie Bruno, Feb. 26, 2010, at:
“The word batture is used to describe portions of the Mississippi River bed that are exposed intermittently, depending on whether the river levels are high or low.…”
One house is described as looking “…like something out of central casting for a fishing camp — wide porch all around, driftwood artfully inserted between pilings, buoys strung from the porch ceiling. It even has faded Barq’s root beer signs on the walls.”
-Photo from housewatchertp’s photostream at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/housewatchertp
-Sent us by Lou Commons
For the last year I’ve been saving URLs of websites, blogs, anything on the internet on the subject of tiny houses. I ended up with over 100 URLs and about a month ago I started going through them and printing out photos and text, which I then file in folders in a filing cabinet. I have maybe 70 file folders now. I have 2-3 weeks more of checking out the blogs and websites. Each reference I go to usually leads me to find other things on the web.
I have no idea right now what the book will look like. After I have all the files assembled, I’ll go through them and make notes and start figuring out the categories, and the flow of the book. Then I have to contact all the bloggers and photographers. I’ll then do non-electronic layouts, sizing photos on my 10-year-old HP color copy machine ($250 new). I’ll get Lew to look stuff over. It will then go to David for artistic tune-up, then to Rick for book construction.
I’ve got some wonderful material. There might just be a movement out there of people simplifying their lives, taking care of their own shelter needs with their own hands. Sort of looks like that to me. This is gonna be a great book! We’ll try to keep up our standards of 1000 photos per book. The vast amount of material we have in our books means that we can only pay a few major contributors. But we do offer blog and website publicity for all participants.
-Above photo from: https://www.betterbarns.com/. These guys are an example of what’s out there.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2010
How to become the chicken coop Frank Gehry
Haven’t laid my hands on a copy yet, but it looks like author and publisher Lloyd Kahn has another winner, in this case a painstaking reproduction of a turn of the century catalog The Gardeners’ and Poultry Keepers’ Guide: Illustrated Catalogue of Goods Manufactured & Supplied by W. Cooper Ltd. Kahn says, on his blog,
“It’s hard cover, linen-looking finish, foil stamped, printed on off-white paper — a book lovers’ book — the kind that us bibliophiles love to touch and thumb through (and feel secure in the knowledge that no stinkin’ ebook will replace the “hard” copy). Also, it’s useful: it gives homesteaders, gardeners, builders, and architects still-practical designs.”
I’ll note one detail I like in the chicken coop in the catalog above, the “dry run.” I included a small dry run space in my coop and the chickens really like it–a place for them to hide out when it rains.
Worried about a nuclear attack? Got $2.3 million? Here’s a “luxury home with its own private airport,” built on top of a 9-story underground missile silo, with the top 2 stories converted into a 3-bedroom, 2-1/2 bath underground living space. It’s in the Adirondack Mountains in N.Y. state. Here’s how the real estate agent describes the underground structure:
“The Silo has a climate constant/approx, 58 degree earth ambient temperature. It is 52′ diameter x 178′ deep / 9 floor steel superstructure. Entire steel superstructure hangs from gigantic spring suspension system designed to absorb shock of a direct nuclear hit.”
Just the thing for some wealthy Tea Party patriots awaiting the Rapture.
-Available from 20th Century Castles, LLC
-Originally discovered at: https://www.treehugger.com/, a great website
“Passive ventilation, utilization of rainwater as a natural cooling system, and blending with the surrounding landscape makes this home ideal for outdoor living. Global Architectural Development designed the Exploded House located in Bodrum, Turkey.”
https://www.buzz-beast.com/2010/02/exploded-house-is-ideal-for-outdoor.html
This is a pavilion that was built out of 1300 pallets for the nordic alpine skiing world championship in Oberstdorf, Germany in 2005. https://blog.bellostes.com/?p=1940
Wilkinson Residence
Portland , Oregon
Designed: 1997
Completed: 2004
“Located on a flag lot, a steep sloping grade provided the opportunity to bring the main level of the house into the tree canopy to evoke the feeling of being in a tree house.…”
https://www.oshatz.com/text/wilkinson.htm
“Lush front yard with driftwood art fence and edible landscaping. Portland, Oregon, Southeast. Charming cozy cottage on a quiet South Tabor street. 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom with fir floors throughout and a woodburning fireplace. Vintage kitchen with bamboo floors – all appliances included. Freshly painted exterior. Organic garden full of fruit (apples, pears, peaches, currants), veggies and edibles. Bike trellis, chicken coop and run are all included. Wonderful location – quick jaunt to Mt. Tabor…”
“A glance at Lawrence Greene’s rustic colonial with wraparound porch in Livingston Manor, N.Y., might lead one to believe it’s a 150-year-old farmhouse. In fact, it’s two years old, one of the greenest houses in New York state, and built in a factory.
The 1,800-square-foot structure was constructed by New World Home, a company that offers environmentally responsible prefabricated houses in a variety of architectural styles.”
-article from NY Times, Sept 2009: https://nyti.ms/bliw6w
Article on the dozen or so houses in the “batture” of Jefferson Parish in New Orleans, titled: Homes on the Mississippi River batture in Jefferson Parish have whimsical appeal, by R. Stephanie Bruno, Feb. 26, 2010, at: 
