3 Eco-Friendly Alternative Housing Ideas

Today, owning a traditional, big house is a pain in the wallet. The purchasing, building and maintaining process can be costly and overwhelming. Fortunately, creative architects in the Philippines can help you in cutting the costs without compromising the quality of your dream house. How? It is through alternative housing ideas!


Alternative housing ideas are proposed to save on maintenance costs and construction time. Plus, they can also reduce your environmental impact—a proof that it’s a win for your future, as well as to nature.


Explore the following eco-friendly alternative housing ideas now and build what’s best for you.

Tree House

We often see tree houses being utilized as play areas for kids or as cottages in resorts. You see, tree houses are not a new concept in the Philippines. And we can’t hide the fact that it’s unique, well-ventilated, flood-free and cost-effective. It is particularly ideal for countries with the tropical climate. As a result, this alternative housing idea has been gaining attention as a residential area in many parts of the world. Plus, you can build it with ease and comfort. All you have to do is find the right builders, a viable tree and the necessary permit to build your home on it.

Earthbag Home

Construction of earthbag houses uses bags or sacks of crushed volcanic rocks or sand. These bags function as the home’s foundation and walls. Most of the time, they are stacked to build a dome-shaped house with an instant roof. Earthbag homes are also known for their strength because they can take as much pressure as blocks do. Moreover, their natural insulation properties help in temperature regulation. They can also aid in flood control. All in all, this alternative housing idea is durable and eco-friendly.

(Source: Earthbag Building)

Log Houses

If you want a spacious house, building a log house would best suit you. Like log cabins, log houses are built through interlocking different sizes of logs. However, log houses are bigger and use logs which have not been milled into conventional lumber. They also serve as well-ventilated residential houses in the Philippines. Still, building one requires a detail-oriented architect due to the unique characteristics of logs compared to ordinary construction materials.

Others

Architects are overabundant of various alternative housing ideas. There are also bus houses, container van houses, straw houses, and recycled bottle houses. You can explore more here.


There are many eco-friendly alternative housing ideas today. Evidently, architects in the Philippines keep on upping their game in architecture without sacrificing nature. To them, designing quality houses with public safety and reduced environmental impact is vital.