Wall House | High Rent Tent

Posted on July 20, 2014 by Administrator

Merging green living, camping, and comfortable suburban residence, Frohn & Rojas’ Wall House in Santiago de Chile is a feat of both aesthetics and engineering. The small-scale home rejects traditional building approaches, providing an interesting take on the wall as a more qualitative and complex element, addressing our relationship with the outdoors, and inspiring social interactions within the home. Not to mention its super-cool and very high-tech “energy screen,” typically used in greenhouse construction, which yields diffused lighting and a regulated interior climate zone.

“The project breaks down the ‘traditional’ walls of a house into a series of four delaminated layers (concrete cave, stacked shelving, milky shell, soft skin) in between which the different spaces of the house slip.

From the inside out the layers build upon one another, both materially and geometrically, blurring the boundary between the interior and the exterior and creating, through the specificity of the different materials used (many of which are not common in architectural applications), a series of qualitatively distinct environments.” -Frohn & Rojas

+ Frohn & Rojas

Via Dezeen

Organic Agriculture

Posted on July 8, 2014 by Administrator

Organic agriculture attracts a new generation of farmers!

Average age of a California farmer hit 58 in 2012!

Sales of organically farmed food jumped nearly 84% in 2012 from 2007!

California farmers 65 and up outnumber those 25 to 34 by ratio of 6 to 1!

By 9 a.m., Jack Motter had been planting peas for hours.

He pushed a two-wheeled contraption that deposited a seed every few inches along neat rows at Ellwood Canyon Farms, just outside Santa Barbara. As clouds gathered overhead, he picked up the pace to avoid losing days of work to the fall rain.

Timing can mean the difference between profit and loss for the 4-year-old farm.

Motter and his business partner, Jeff Kramer, are part of a growing crop of farmers — many of them young — choosing to produce food without pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. As consumers demand more fresh and local food grown with minimal environmental effects, a new generation has taken up organic farming.

The two Brawley, Calif., natives, both 30, have learned that small-scale agriculture is neither easy nor lucrative. Their days on the 15-acre farm start at dawn and end with exhaustion.

“There’s nothing romantic about it,” Kramer said. “It’s hard work and long hours for little pay.”

Agriculture officials are hoping more young people heed the call to till the land, whether organically or conventionally, as the average age of California farmers continues to climb. It hit 58 in 2012, up by nearly two years from 2007, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s most recent census.

In 2012, the number of California farmers 65 and older grew nearly 20% to 39,428 during the five-year period — nearly three times faster than farmers ages 25 to 34.

Older agricultural operators outnumber their younger counterparts 6 to 1, the data show. There are fewer than 6,400 farmers ages 25 to 34 in California.

Agriculture trade groups have developed programs, including training and financial incentives, aimed at attracting young people. The National Young Farmers Coalition through member surveys has found that the bulk of new operators are going the organic route.

Many new farmers are motivated primarily by the desire to show that mainstream methods aren’t the only way to grow food.

Large conventional farms can churn out commodity crops quickly and economically. The average American farm, tilled by heavy machinery, is now 434 acres, up from 418 in 2007, the USDA reported recently.

But changing consumer preferences for locally grown and organic food have paved the way for young farmers to carve out a niche.

Chris Velez is among them. About 300 miles north of Ellwood Canyon Farms, Velez has spent nearly 10 years farming five acres in Auberry, Calif. He sees the work as a mission.

“The Earth is in a pretty dramatic state,” he said. “It’s truly calling for people to come tend to the land in a healthy way.”

More on this feature by RICARDO LOPEZ LA TIMES Photos by Katie Falkenberg

800,000 Pageviews

Posted on June 29, 2014 by Administrator

Today our website will reach 800,000 pageviews, which I deeply appreciate. Thank-you so much for taking time to check out what we are about. I had no idea what to expect when I decided to launch Texas Tiny Homes on December 6th, 2012, but am humbled and very excited about our future.

I also own, Brand to Market, a Dallas based advertising agency, which handles all of Texas Tiny Homes marketing. If you’re interested in having a website designed, or need to update/remodel or market your current one, check out the link.

Sincerely,

Bryan D. Smith

The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad

Posted on June 22, 2014 by Administrator

Durango was founded by the Denver & Rio Grande Railway in 1880. The railroad arrived in Durango on August 5, 1881 and construction on the line to Silverton began in the fall of the same year. By July of 1882, the tracks to Silverton were completed and the train began hauling both passengers and freight.

From the very beginning, the railroad was promoted as a scenic route for passenger service although the line was constructed primarily to haul mine ores, both gold and silver, from the San Juan Mountains. It is estimated over $300 million in precious metals has been transported over this route

By 1885 the population of Silverton had grown to 1100 and Otto Mears completed the toll road to Ouray and additional narrow gauge track out of Silverton was laid down in 1887. In 1893, 10 large mines in the Silverton district were forced to close when silver prices dropped from $1.05/oz to $.63/oz. Just three years later the Yankee Girl and Guston Mines played out. In Durango, the fire of 1889 virtually destroyed downtown and the first automobile arrived by train in 1902. By 1906, Mesa Verde was designated a National Park, increasing the potential for tourism promotions.

Throughout the next twenty years the railroad faced many challenges; slides, floods, snow, war and financial instability. When the US Government entered WW I, it assumed operation of the railroad. Shortly after resuming control of railroad operations, the D&RGW reorganized due to financial difficulties. Silverton suffered devastating effects from the Spanish Flu Epidemic of 1918 – 10 percent of the population died in just six weeks! In addition, the Gold King Mine closed, the Sunnyside Mine temporarily ceased operations for almost ten years and the Silverton Railroad closed.

Today the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad continues to provide year-round train service, operating a historical train with rolling stock indigenous to the line. The locomotives used to pull today’s train remain 100% coal-fired, steam-operated. The locomotives are 1923-25 vintage and are maintained in original condition. The coaches each feature bathroom facilities and are heated during the winter months for passenger comfort. Open gondola cars provide a panoramic view of the mountains. Concessions are available on every train. The Durango & Silverton is owned and operated by American Heritage Railways.

More on the Durango Train and its website!

San Juan Mountain Range | Colorado Mountain Passes

Posted on June 12, 2014 by Administrator

(Black Bear Pass, Telluride)

As some of you may know, I spent most of 2013 in Lake City, Colorado, a small, but amazing historic mining town located in the heart of the San Juan Mountain Range. While in Lake City, I designed multiple plans for Texas Tiny Homes clients, as well as designed plans that are now available for purchase in our online store.

Tiny House Plans, Small Home Plans, Micro Tiny Home Plans, Micro Home Plans, Tiny Home plans, Tiny Homes, Tiny Houses, Tiny House Builder, Tiny Homes Builder, small houses, small house plans As someone born and raised in Texas, I had only been to Colorado once before, but even then it was a “drive through the state” as I was in route to Wyoming. I was not accustomed to mountain driving last April 6th, or fully prepared for what I was about to encounter as I left Creede, Colorado for what was suppose to be an “hour long drive”. That hour long drive (according to the experts) took me about three and half hours due to it being dark, and it was sleeting and snow was falling, and I was on a narrow, two lane mountain road that had no guard rails. I will be honest flatlander’s, I was white knuckling it at 2 miles per hour during much of that steep and slick mountain drive. Once slip up and you plunge to your death. Tiny House Plans, Small Home Plans, Micro Tiny Home Plans, Micro Home Plans, Tiny Home plans, Tiny Homes, Tiny Houses, Tiny House Builder, Tiny Homes Builder, small houses, small house plans While in Colorado, I was also able to do quite a bit of exploring in and around Lake City; including going on a 6 -hour Jeep ride around Engineers Pass, which features some amazing, world class views, but that mountain drive is not an ideal situation for those who suffer vertigo, as I apparently do, though I’ve never been professionally diagnosed. Tiny House Plans, Small Home Plans, Micro Tiny Home Plans, Micro Home Plans, Tiny Home plans, Tiny Homes, Tiny Houses, Tiny House Builder, Tiny Homes Builder, small houses, small house plans I hate to admit it, but I was hoodwinked into this great adventure by a couple of Lake City buddies who were well aware that took me 3 times longer to drive from Creede to Lake City as it does full time mountaineers. They were not honest with me about what I was in store for as we ventured out on the famous mountain pass.

Engineers Pass starts out at 8761 feet in Lake City, and the mountain road reaches an elevation of 12,600 at Cinnamon Pass, though Lake City is surrounded by fourteeners, which means they are 14,000′ feet high. Engineer Pass is a 23.4 miles trail, located in Hinsdale County, and is one of Colorado’s most scenic off-road drives. This 4 x 4 trail, combined with Cinnamon Pass, constitutes the famous Alpine Loop. It is an exhilarating trip for drivers of all experience levels, but many who venture out on that loop wind up having panic attacks and have abandon their vehicles and walk back down to safer ground, and someone drives their vehicle down. Some of the rental places told me they have to go pick up their vehicles due to their customers freaking out, which made me feel a little better knowing I was not the only one who panicked at times during that 6 hour drive. Engineers Pass is one of two major passes on the Alpine Loop and is at 12,800 ft. From this vantage point, the surrounding areas unfold, including Mt. Sneffels (14,150 ft.) to the west and Uncompahgre Peak (14,309 ft.) to the northeast. The extinct Lake City volcanic caldera, which the Alpine Loop encircles, lies to the east. Four-wheel drive vehicles travel this pass today, but at one time it was a toll road, built by Otto Mears. The first stagecoach passed over this road in 1877. Besides the breath taking views that are in every direction, there are multiple abandoned mining camps that you can get out and explore, which as a long time home builder I found very interesting.

Caution should be used at all times, especially if you encounter wet weather. Any 4 x 4 with moderate ground clearance and low-range gearing can do fine. Drive on a clear day to see all the views. Unlicensed vehicles are not allowed to ride through the town of Lake City to connect with Cinnamon Pass.

Engineers Pass was an afternoon I’ll never forget, but was glad to be back at 8700 feet that evening. I did notice the more I drove from Lake City over to Gunnision, and other the nearby towns during my extended time there the more comfortable I became. When I finally pulled out of Lake City in December, the drive back to Creede only took an hour. I can’t really call myself a mountaineer, but I do plan to go back as much as possible in the years to come.