Sunflower House, France, by Atelier SOA
The Paris-based practice, Atelier SOA, combined the utopian daydreams of 60s-era idealists with the latest in contemporary energy-saving technologies to create the Sunflower House, which has been designed to be self-sufficient in terms of both energy and food. Lest you think this is a blueprint for a survivalist-style log-cabin, the aesthetic is actually derived from the need to gather up sunlight and channel it into the heart of the house.
Atelier SOA's Pierre Sartoux and Augustin Rosenstiehl point out that 20% of the world's population consume approximately 80% of its resources, so a little more self-sufficiency would not go amiss. The architects propose ways of equitably redistributing resources. A combination of a 'family farm and communications satellite,' the structure predicts a more localised world of telecommuting and small, intimate communities.
Structurally reminiscent of Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion House, the circular shape also maximises flexibility when it comes to siting the house.
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