De-technologizing housing: urban self-sustainability
Cities are desirable places to live, but the cost of housing is rising, there is less housing available, and more people than ever are moving into cities. Where can one find a place to live? On the roof! Roofs are often flat, you get the best view in the building, and you’re far away from noisy traffic. Yes, I suppose the air conditioning compressor isn’t so quiet, nor do you get the benefit of the AC, but until the penthouse owner complains, you’re the king of the castle.
Precedents of rooftop dwellings:
The Loft Cube
Soltag.net apartments
…of urban nomads:
shelter blog
Urban Nomad Shelter
…of parasitic shelters:
Parasitic Architecture
Yale architecture school project
One problem with all of these projects is that utilities are either disregarded or explained too easily away. To live, we must eat, drink, and go to the bathroom, and to have any friends we must bathe as well. In this country, extensive infrastructure makes it possible for us to connect our houses to water, drainage pipes, electricity and natural gas so that we can cook food, wash ourselves and heat our houses. While some people live off the grid, they tend to live in rural areas: they have chosen to live so rurally that there is no grid to connect to, or they want to live off the (rural) land and decide to unplug. Living off the grid in the city is much harder unless you decide to wash at the gym, eat out every night and buy bottled water all the time. You can’t dig a well for water unless you have a backyard. It’s hard to use solar panels if you live in the basement apartment. You can’t stick a composting toilet in your studio apartment. How can one become self-sufficient in the city?
By living on the roof, you solve a couple of the problems: you’re in a great location for solar panels, and wind tends to be better on the roof if you want to get wind power instead.
solar panels
Motorwind turbines
Being on the roof is also good for catching rain water.
Rainwater harvesting
humidifying water cooler
While a composting toilet may not be for everyone, it will help you deal with a lack of drainage pipe.
And a composting kitchen:
I know there are ways to purify waste water by filtering it through a series of different types of plants. This would make use of dirty dish and bath water, plus it would keep a nice garden going.
Solar oven to cook in.
You can use solar and wind for power; rain water and a dehumidifier for water; a composting toilet and kitchen for waste; water purification garden for waste water; and a solar oven to cook with. You might want to throw in a gas tank for rainy days…