building tools for replicable, open source, post-scarcity resilient communities

Open Source Ecology’s two-module MicroHouse

MicroHouse Construction Manager Chris Reinhart is moving forward on the OSE Microhouse design. The Microhouse is a modular, low-cost, simple-but-comfortable, Compressed Earth Brick (CEB) house design. It is designed such that the different parts of the house can be build in parallel – walls, utility modules, roof sections, windows and doors, and others. We are approaching this design from a “Housing Construction Set” approach – where we are developing basic, interoperable, scalable, modifiable building modules. We are experimenting with the limits of earth housing as a building method comparable in cost and build time to standard stick-frame construction – while allowing for much longer building lifetime.

A two-module design has emerged, featuring a courtyard in between. One 12′ x 12′ unit will be devoted to work and sleeping space (possibly a sleeping loft), while the other will house a kitchen, bath, and dining space.

The Microhouse’s passive solar design for direct solar gain can be built using compressed earth bricks produced by our CEB Press. The building collects heat from its southern exposure without losing it on the other three sides.

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