This weekend I was inspired by a visit to a sustainable home created by a couple living in rural Minnesota. Christian and Jennifer have constructed a 2400 square foot home that is off the grid. When they learned the cost of a new well in their rural location would be $22,000, they designed a rainwater cachment system, with three 2500 gallon cisterns in the basement. When they learned the cost of bringing electricity to their site would be $12,000, they spent a little more, and with photovoltaic cells and a wind generation, will be able to meet all the needs of a modern household. A masonry stove is designed to efficiently burn the wood they'll use to keep warm in the winter.
The entire house is a system that pleases in every way imaginable: from the aesthetics of the limestone stove, to the Vermont slate floors that will keep cool in the summer and retain heat in the winter, to the overhang on the southward facing windows (with a high solar heat gain coefficient) that keeps direct light out in the summer but allows it in during the winter, to the non-toxic clay paints.
You can read more about the house at www.lichtnstein.org.The house is a manifestation of my vision, both for myself, and this blog, which is to find a marriage between beauty and preservation of the world.
About Me
- Martha Greenwald
- My background is as an interdisciplinary artist, writer and social entrepreneur, working independently on issues related to art, psychology, spirituality, environmental sustainability and social change. Health is a big new preoccupation! My artwork can be viewed at www.marthagreenwald.com
2 comments:
I am posting on my own blog, just to make sure it accepts comments. If you go to www.eagle-bluff.org, you can learn about an upcoming dinner on November 4, where two local families will talk about their off-the-grid houses.
I really like your vision! You are on to something very significant--the marriage of beauty and sustainability. Well said, all the way through, Martha.
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