HOUSE FOR ALL SEASONS BY JOHN LIN.

I found this project really interesting for many reasons.

The design of the building is done in such a way that it is self sufficient, it is a open structure with a envelope of brick. The inside of the building is done using mud and is enveloped with a perforated brick wall. The house has a central courtyard following the Chinese principle.

The self sufficiency elements of the design were the most interesting aspect of the design.


A number of courtyards are contained behind the walls of the house, accommodating a pig pen and an underground biogas boiler that generates energy from the animal waste.

 brick on the exterior and mud walls on the interior

Wide staircases provide areas for planting crops, which can be fertilised using leftover slurry from the boiler and dried on the roof of the house.

During the rainy season the roof is also used to collect water, which filters down into a large container and can be stored throughout the year.


mud blocks being compacted

 bio gas plant