Category: Housing

Researchers at the University of Queensland have developed an innovative new construction panel made from timber and cardboard, which promises to make temporary housing for people displaced by natural disasters more affordable, lighter, and sustainable. These new panels are 50% lighter than their predecessors while maintaining the same strength, according to a recent study by structural engineering Ph.D. candidate Mahmoud Abu-Saleem and Associate Professor Joe Gattas from UQ’s School of Civil Engineering.

Dr. Gattas explained that the extensive use of cardboard in the panels helps reduce both the cost and environmental impact of construction. This makes the panels a more viable option for temporary housing, especially as builders increasingly face shortages and skyrocketing prices of traditional building materials. “Cardboard is one of the most highly recycled materials for packaging in Australia,” said Dr. Gattas. “By using it, we’re not adding to waste or increasing resource consumption—we’re extending the life of a material that would otherwise be recycled again.”

Continue reading… “Innovative Timber-Cardboard Panels Could Revolutionize Temporary Housing for Disaster Relief”

The luxury smart homes receive deliveries by drone and come with underwater marine detection cameras

Panama will be home to the world’s first community of floating SeaPods, with the inaugural pod now in the water at Linton Bay Marina in Colon.

Ocean Builders, a company specialising in innovative marine technology, has officially launched what it says are the first floating eco-restorative pod homes in the world.

Perched three metres above sea level on the Caribbean coast of Panama, the futuristic units are designed to accommodate two people and are on sale now, with prices ranging from $295,000 to $1.5 million.

Floating pod homes launched in Panama

By December, the first overnight guests will be able to bed down in the pods, and 100 fully-owned units will be ready for full-time residents by summer next year.

A second batch of more than 1,000 of the pods will go into production next year.

Designed by Dutch architect Koen Olthuis, the futuristic SeaPods are geared toward climate-conscious travellers who want to live on the water, but don’t want to give up the luxuries of modern living.

Continue reading… “World’s first floating pod homes launched in Panama starting at $295,000”

By Felix Salmon

Why it matters: The U.S. is in desperate need of more high-quality rental housing. Homeownership works for many — and doesn’t work at all for many others, who might not be ready to settle down or might not have the financial means.

The big picture: Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen has invested $350 million, his largest check ever, into Adam Neumann’s new company, Flow. 

• Andreessen’s blog post lays out his investment thesis, that renting a home is “a soulless experience.” 
• The details of how Flow will work are still vague, but they’re likely to include amenitization — bells and whistles for apartment renters — as well as some kind of financial upside.

What they’re saying: “Someone who is bought in to where he lives cares more about where he lives,” writes Andreessen. “Without this, apartments don’t generate any bond between person and place and without community, no bond between person to person.”

• In New York, I’ve lived in both owned and rented apartments, and the community in my rental building was just as vibrant and tight-knit as anywhere I’ve owned.
• Neighborhoods characterized by very low home-ownership rates — think Harlem, in New York, or Hialeah, in Miami — often boast deep and lasting communities stretching across generations and decades. 

Continue reading… “Why the rental housing market is so deeply broken”