I’ve recently discovered a company based in Toronto, Canada. They’re making minimalist eco houses using the best green materials available. As it is made in Canada, the somewhat-fragile looking houses are insulated to a level where it can be used all year round even in places like Yukon.
The manufacturing of the miniHome doesn’t involve any toxic materials or processes. The building eliminates site disruption and is as green as you can wish for. The mobility and low-impact features of those tiny Eco Houses mean that it can provide good quality dwelling in some distant regions, and is mobile enough to be easily relocated if necessary.
These eco houses cost around $200 per square foot. It is certainly not cheap for a trailer replacement but if you look at it from the perspective of permanent housing (that is if your family is happy to live in a house like this for at least 20 years to come), it is not bad at all. Therefore – a house like the one you see on the floorplan would cost you around $150,000+.
The pros include:
- No nasty plastics like vinyl
- No chipboards and veneers releasing formaldehyde
- No toxic paints and adhesives
- Paints are water-based or plant oil-based
- All woodwork comes from sustainable sources (has FSC certification)
- Well though-out natural ventilation (the layouts are so simple that it requires for you to pop the windows open and it will be ventilated)
- Extremely low maintenance costs
- Either comes with photovoltaic solar panels or the panels are easy to install
The cons include:
- Small size – 8″ by 34″ doesn’t allow for much living space
- Cost might be an issue if compared to eco-unfriendly mobile homes (no issue if compared to permanent homes)
- Neither fancy-looking nor cutting-edge architecture
As far as the green materials and sustainable manufacturing goes, there’s hardly any eco houses better than MiniHome, it’s just a question of applicability: is that sort of solution suitable for your family?
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