Spaces of prayer and worship have traditionally been designed create suspension of disbelief in order to give the users a grander sense of a higher being. This church, designed by Belgian architects Pieterjan Gijs and Arnout Van Vaerenbergh, does just that by appearing to be completely see-through.
Layers of rusted steel ribs are stacked upon each other with spacers that create gaps between each piece. The result is a structure that is more translucent than it is opaque, allowing light, air and views to flow into one exterior wall and out the other.
The ephemeral church blends majestically into the surrounding Belgian hillside, especially when backlit by the rising or setting sun. It won’t protect you from rain, wind, floods or snow, but it will provide a serene setting to appreciate the things greater than yourself.
Growing up, most of us had a friend whose parents owned an impressive house, but I guarantee none of us had a friend with a place like this. Owned by Catherine King and Wayne Adams, this eco-fortress of sorts can be found floating off the coastal inlet of Cypress Bay in British Columbia.
They call it “Freedom Cove” and the colorful offgrid home consists of a series of 12 structures. They share the place with their two children, Eleanor and Alistair, and seem to have a great system in place that has allowed them to live a self-sustainable existence for 20+ years.
There’s a greenhouse and garden system that provides food year-round. At one point they even had a hen-house, but were discouraged by the frequent attacks by hungry sea creatures. The family takes advantage of the heavy rain during the winter to collect water, and uses a waterfall nearby in the summer. Electricity comes courtesy solar panels and photovoltaic generators.
A wooden walkway connects each of the unique structures and the bright pinks and blues accenting the entire layout do more than hint at the couple’s artistic skills.
The couple earns extra income from their art – Catherine is a painter, writer, and wood carver, and Wayne sells carvings and candles in nearby gift shops.
Below you can see the workshop where Wayne does most of his carving, along with some close-ups of the finished candles.
If you’re in the area and want to check this place out, your in luck because curious visitors can take a boat tours of Freedom Cove or a sea kayak tour to get a personal tour.. In fact, they encourage visitors to spend time on the fortress.
This certainly has to be one of the most impressive offgrid homes we’ve seen. While the lifestyle isn’t for everyone, those looking for inspiration to escape mainstream society and forge a life of their own can find inspiration in their story.
Dubbed the “Ecostream” this renovated Airstream is dripping with style, from the subtly colorful exterior LED lighting to the cork flooring and luxuriously appointed interior.
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The couple who own this beauty sold all their belongings and their home, purchasing the Airstream in 2009. After completing the extensive renovation they spent the next 18 months living in it. When the solar powered RV isn’t being towed by a vegetable oil-fueled pickup truck, you can find it comfortably parked in the owners driveway, outside their modest Alameda, CA home.
“We are driving towards sustainability one mile at a time. We owned a home. We sold a home. We rented a house that was 1500 s.f. Now we’re living in under 200 s.f. We are living on less and living more purposefully.”
With the growing trend of “pubsheds” comes an increasing amount of creativity, as demonstrated by this guy who turned a simple shed dubbed “The Barn” into a very creative backyard bar where he and his buddies can hang out and enjoy a couple drinks. What makes his build unique though is the peculiar use of a whopping 5,500 pennies which he incorporated into the design. Check it out below.
The gabled barn style shed looks nice on the outside…
Yet the inside was lacking in proper bar decor, so he went to work building a bar.
The bar itself isn’t too fancy…yet.
Here’s where he starts to get creative, setting aside $55 worth of pennies for special use.
He even sorted the pennies, keeping the pre-1982 ones from the rest. Talk about commitment!
Before using the pennies, he decided to soak them in vinegar and salt, which removes the oxidization and brings them back to a shiny new state.
But he also left half of them to dry without polishing, which created a nice variation in the color for his project.
Then he set to work, laying the pennies in a diamond pattern according to their shades of color.
You might notice every penny is facing heads up.
Finally he slathered four quarts of resin over the top, using a blowtorch to remove any bubbles, and was left with a beautiful surface on his new bar.
And of course he installed a kegerator to dispense ice cold brews for him and his friends.
The completed project on display, with three local Virginia beers on tap!
Brazilian architecture firm Triptyque have designed an office building in Sao Paolo that not only collects rain water, but utilizes a sophisticated filtration and delivery system to irrigate naturally insulating green walls. A maze-like network of water pipes snake up and down the building’s facades, fitted with misters that provide the living walls with freshly recycled rain water.
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The project is an ecological experiment aimed at challenging how society deals with water – how it can be collected, recycled, and redistributed with little need for waste or run-off. In addition to the green wall system, a series of planted roofs further mitigate the structures environmental footprint. When the misting nozzles are on full tilt, the building is enveloped in what appears to be a stationary cloud, reinforcing the issue of water conservation in both function and aesthetic.
