$100 HOUSE ... !!!
eye candy for the neighbors! was super
exciting to meet so many people after installing only 40 square foot of the
new siding on the facade ...
above: interior snow drift in the
attic, during our initial walk-through, and the burned carpet backing from fire
1 ... smooth s p a c e ahead ...
burn shadows and peeling paint
treasures from inside walls ... amatuer
photo mags, rock salt and ... the future!! as represented in a direct mail advertisement
from 1937 offering a coupon for clothing
ripping off the newest fake plastic
rock facade to reveal the authentic fake brick siding panels ...
the new siding on the facade, courtesy
of a sign shop dumpster (and a lot of cutting time on the table saw making shingles)
roof = skylight repair - using scvenged
1x4s from a trash pile and a found multi-panel polycarbonate sign from a faraway
alley .. let there be light
table for 20 ... courtesy of the removed /recycled attic floor planks and framing
from a prior remodel
the original kitchen and bath floors were maple hardwood, (somewhat!) perfectly
preserved under no less than 6 layers of vinyl and paper and ply and vinyl and
.. goo!!
dwg with notes ...
happy homeowners?
so i've / we've been unofficially calling this some kind of 'new american dream'
... and although it's perhaps overly ambitious in theory or in name, the fact
remains - for us and so many others - that the idea of a pay-as-you-go method
of home ownership is completely un-american, super practical, very sustainable
and gives us a chance to be much more directly involved and even possibly have
a surplus of time and energy for own other creative works .... all at an incredibly
low cost -
we see it as a kind-of "house as inhabitable sculpture" approach if
you will, and doing whatever we can to transform or flip of the condition of
having been 'scrapped' (scrappers have removed the plumbing and electrics) into
an impetus for outfitting the house with active and passive solar features ...
and hopefully a composting toilet! but Mitch & Gina's POWER
HOUSE PROJECT has much more on the topic of renewables - this page / site
/ endeavor is more focused on other more ephemeral less quantifiable experiments
in taking action towards a low-cost high-yield sustainable future .... YES!!!
and so based on notes on the above drawing you can see we're building a custom
skylight to take advantage of the hole chopped in by firefighters during the
last house fire, and getting rid of a large portion of the attic floor to allow
the skylight to flood as much of the downstairs space with natural light (as
well as eliminating a large amount of ceiling and floor damage (and repairs)
from the year or two of snow and water damage from the hole in the roof)
Sarah shoveling snow - from the attic
and it was fun to watch our friend Sean tell his son 'they have snow INSIDE
their house' as we showed them photos of the house
and some of the images from our new house made it into a show in Houston at
a little space called the SKYDIVE
here's the pres release ...
February 12 – March 11, 2009
OPEN HOUSE - work by Sarah Wagner and Jon Brumit
curated by Sasha Dela
"Home, for us, has been re-discovered and re-invented in our hearts and
minds as the multiform and frequently fugitive structural relationship between
ourselves and something larger than ourselves. It is our families, each other,
our cats, our friends, former houses, dorm rooms, stories, a houseboat, dreams,
foods, moving trucks, our studios, vans, tents, bike bags, friends' couches,
an in-progress container home, our newest $100 home in Detroit and most importantly
and perhaps most constantly each other - a morphing, evolving and strengthening
bond through time and space, going on 17 years as a couple. Over this time we
have worked together as artists, sculptors, builders, remodelers, repair-people
and most recently as designers, growing through spirited and fierce dialog,
sharing dreams, visions and hope." - Sarah Wagner and Jon Brumit
visualization of the front space opened up by way of demolishing the front walls
and ceiling overhead, moving kitchen doors & layout,
an ealier visualization of opened front space as workspace, however middle dividing
wall will remain (line running left to right in the drawing above) to allow
for two long studios side by side as opposed to one large open space
a stereo
camera obscura view of the garage from the enclosed back porch room ...
an article from HEMISPHERES magazine ... (click or control-click on the above
rubble picture for a pdf)
and some other press for this nutty adventure .... including much about Corinne,
Design 99, Gina, Mitch and Zeb ... but not much about other Detroit orgs or
folks also doing great work ...
so please also see: Power
House Project and follow those links!!!
New York Times - For
Sale: The $100 House by TOBY BARLOW
Detroit News - Detroit's
hard edge -- and dirt-cheap real estate -- attract artists from around the world
by Michael H. Hodges
Philly Inquirer - And
you did say . . . Detroit? (reprint from NYT) by Toby Barlow
Model D - Detroit
House: $100. Bold New Ideas for the City: Priceless by Walter Wasacz
NPR - In
Detroit, Artists Look For Renewal In Foreclosures by Jennifer Guerra
BoingBoing - Artists
buying cheap houses in Detroit posted by Cory Doctorow
Rust Wire - Cheap
Homes = Prime Real Estate for Artists in Rust Belt Cities by Angie Schmitt
Michigan Public Radio - The
Upside Of Foreclosures by Jennifer Guerra
ABC's 20/20 and online at abc.com - $100
House: Sad and Wonderful by Bob Brown
© 2009 • jon brumit • contact for terms of use