Shipping container homes have carved out a niche for compact living, but few do it with style like Sonic Steel’s Mark T. Nestled in the coastal hamlet of Port Neill, South Australia, this two-story beauty combines three steel containers into a home that’s far from industrial.
In Austin, Texas, a city dealing with increasing housing costs, a quiet revolution is taking place on the outskirts of the Mueller neighborhood. ICON, a local construction company that pushes the boundaries, is employing 3D printing technology to build 12 homes. Three of these homes, each a 651-square-foot bungalow, are available to low-income buyers under the Mueller Affordable Homes Program.
Johny, a superyacht captain used to sailing the world’s oceans, has dropped anchor in an unexpected place: a 43ft long, single level tiny home in the Australian rainforest. Built on a repurposed concert trailer, this home on Living Big in a Tiny House combines modern design with raw nature, a dream come true for some digital nomads.
Photo credit: DQTower
We have seen the future of tiny homes, and it includes DQTower. This three-story, prefabricated marvel squeezes a full home into a 4m x 4.2m footprint, proving that verticality might just be the secret sauce for sustainable living.
Photo credit: MVRDV
A residential tower that looks like it was yanked from the pixelated plains of Minecraft is set to rise in Taipei’s Tianmu neighborhood. Dutch architecture firm MVRDV, known for its boundary-pushing designs, has unveiled Out of the Box, a 25-story residential structure that’s as much a playful nod to blocky aesthetics as it is a clever response to Taiwan’s complex building regulations.
Photo credit: Benjamin Hofer / Nova Fundaziun Origen
In Mulegns, Switzerland, a village of just 11 residents, Tor Alva, the world’s tallest 3D-printed tower, stands 98.4 feet tall (30 meters). Officially unveiled on Tuesday (May 20), this collaboration between ETH Zurich and the Origen was designed to host art, music, and theater.
At first, Wolf Ranch’s homes look like stylish, modern houses with a touch of Texas Hill Country charm. But a closer peek shows their big secret: they’re made by ICON’s Vulcan II, a huge 3D printer that builds them layer by layer using a special concrete mix called “Lavacrete.” The result is a collection of single-story homes ranging from 1,500 to 2,000 square feet, with three to four bedrooms and two to three bathrooms, priced between $450,000 and $600,000—competitive for the Austin metro area.
