As a response to current trends in real estate development – cheap, fast and homogenous – that have become hallmarks of unmitigated suburban sprawl, Canadian architect John Brown created the Slow Home movement in 2006. Borrowing its underlying philosophy from Slow Food, that of quality, appreciation and holistic practices, the initiative seeks to synthesize principles of good residential design with real world applications in a way that is accessible to a general audience.
Taking that connection a step further, Brown recently launched the Slow Home website, an effort that combines the brand of informative, how-to videos commonly offered by cooking shows with design [...]

Whiles it’s no surprise that many of America’s cities are seeing a drop in their populations, a result of stagnant local economies, loss of jobs and fluctuations in the housing market, some of the locations that are seeing the highest real estate vacancy rates might come as a bit of a shock. When we hear about depleted metro areas, we think of Rustbelt cities like Detroit and Cleveland, not sought after locales like San Francisco and Miami, but this is the current reality as housing and rental pricing outpaces salaries.
Forbes recently compiled their list of “America’s Abandoned Cities,”  using the [...]

Ex-industrial spaces are often transformed into living spaces – why not office parks? Fast Company reports on an unusual plan to turn a massive, unused suburban office campus into a community of lofts and stores.
This particular office park, located in Holmdel, New Jersey has an impressive pedigree. Designed by renowned Finnish architect Eero Saarinen, the buildings housed Bell Labs, where pioneering work on transistors and cell phones was done.
Though the project is currently stalled due to pending approval from the local government, there is hope that it can act as a model for future office retrofits around the country.
[Fast Company [...]

The people over at Beeple have directed this fantastic video illustrating the instability of the American housing market. Every successive house that is built folds into itself and sprouts the growth of a new one, only to repeat the process again.

subprime from beeple on Vimeo.
[via Doobybrain.com]

Jo Nagasaka and Schemata Architecture Office have designed a minimalist, multi-purpose living cube called the Paco. It’s a 3mx3mx3m cube that contains just the basic amenities of a living space including a hammock, desk, sink and shower. The roof raises up to let in light and air, and there is even a tiny “guest compartment” that slides out in the bottom of the box. While the Paco looks a little too austere for most people’s tastes, it’s a well-designed housing solution that could be dropped down and used pretty much anywhere.
[via Deezen & Slash Gear]

Looking more like something out of a design magazine than a disaster area, the Universal World House is a full featured paper house created for people in desperate need for shelter. Designed for disaster victims, refugees and the urban poor, the UWH is made out of resin soaked cellulose sourced from recycled cardboard and newspapers. It’s lightweight, strong and at $5,000, relatively cheap. Its components are pre-fabricated in Germany and will be constructed on-site, adding the extra value of local job creation. Each house can sleep 8 and comes with a bathroom, veranda and kitchen which can be made open-air.
Looks [...]