Eco Factor: Sustainable home uses recycled materials and solar energy.
The Malibu 5 home is a striking example of how homes can be made ecofriendly and beautiful at the same time. The home, designed by a team of architects led by Stephen Kanner, comes with features such as the use of recycled materials in construction, passive solar energy for hot water, solar panels for renewable energy and open spaces for natural ventilation.
The house faces the Pacific Ocean, thereby ensuring coastal breezes and eye-catching views. The architecture is being conceived as a passive solar house and is designed to harness most of all that nature has to offer. The solar panels incorporated in the building generate more energy than the requirements of this house, thereby allowing the owner to sell the remainder back to the local power grid.
The ground level floors are made of concrete, which act as heat sinks, storing the energy of the sun during the day to keep the house warm at night. The rocks excavated during the construction have been recycled in the walls, reducing its environmental impact. The home also has a rainwater harvesting system to provide water for drip irrigation to a limited degree.
The Dark Side:
Good does not always come cheap and here we are talking about the best. The features introduced in the house promise off-grid, sustainable living, but that does come at a huge cost of about $1,300,000.
Via: Freshome/BestHouseDesign
