Architect Atelier Matias Mosquera designed an eye-popping concrete home in Buenos Aires, Argentina, that is impressively self-sufficient and naturally sustainable.
As New Atlas reported, the home, known as the Shire, is in a rural area and spans about 2,150 square feet. It has three bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a library area.Â
The home enables the owner to escape city life and live off-grid, surrounded by nature.
It is fully powered by solar panels connected to a battery array and equipped with a rainwater collection system linked to a vegetable garden. This way, the homeowner will be able to grow their own food while conserving resources and reducing waste in multiple ways.
As Mosquera explained in New Atlas: "Instead of buying and throwing goods away, the idea is to produce, consume as needed, and then recycle. There would be no more garbage, since the system would be self-sufficient. It generates its own electricity, heating, water, and above all, food."
The photos of the new home in the New Atlas article are stunning and inspiring, with lush landscaping, unobtrusive aesthetics, and modern design. They show the home's concrete exterior, landscaped gardens, rooftop walkways, wooden shading fins, swimming pool, and natural light.Â
Mosquera's concrete home design demonstrates the potential of self-sufficient homes and the benefits of houses that produce their own energy, utilize energy-efficient features, and blend into the natural environment.
Homes like this one eliminate the need for traditional oil and gas energy sources, helping homeowners dramatically reduce their monthly utility expenses while cutting down on harmful pollution.
The Shire joins the ranks of other famous and fabulous self-sufficient home designs, such as the net-zero energy model designed by University of Wyoming students and the off-grid KONGA tiny home by Danish architect Mette Fredskild.
Even if you aren't in the market to build a brand-new home, there are still many cost-saving sustainability upgrades that you can make to your current abode. For example, homeowners can go carbon-free by installing solar panels and geothermal heating systems.
You can also drastically reduce your energy use and costs by installing an air source heat pump, heat pump water heater, and induction stove.
Increasingly affordable modern technologies like these examples can help you move toward a more self-sufficient home so you reduce your family's environmental impact and are prepared for future threats of extreme weather.
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