5 Amazing Green Buildings by Eco-Architect Michael Jantzen

Michael Jantzen is a building architect who loves to create cool eco-friendly designs that are also attention getting for being unique and interesting. He has gotten attention for a large number of different buildings due to the fact that he is a prolific building designer who is constantly putting out cutting-edge new designs. Here is a look at some of them:

Wind Powered Eco Wine Pavilion

The newest project from Michael Jantzen is a wind-powered eco wine pavilion, which you can be certain is something that the world has never seen before. The pavilion is designed to use a combination of wind power and photovoltaic materials to naturally generate power. This power should be sufficient to power the entire building. Other green features of this building include a design that supports natural ventilation and the use of prefab construction materials. So what exactly is this building? It is a special events center where there are wine tastings among other events. The building’s unique shape is inspired by the grapes that wine comes from and is designed to look a bit like grapes growing over a trellis (although it’s done mostly in glass).

Revolving R-House

Imagine living in a house with walls that continually rotated around the exterior of the structure. The purpose would be to allow natural sunlight and natural wind to come in through the house in the most effective way all day long. That’s exactly what Jantzen had in mind when he designed his revolving R-house. The revolving walls are the coolest part of the design but they aren’t the only green features of this vacation home. The house is designed to be an off-grid house that gets its energy from wind turbines and photovoltaic cells. It’s built using a sustainable type of wood. It is also designed to collect rainwater for use around the home and to have unique green home features like a composting toilet. Oh, and the walls of the home can be moved around a bit to enlarge the size of the house when you have guests.

M-House

The idea of a house with movable walls is something that Jantzen has used in many of his designs before. Take a look at the M-House. It is made of interchangeable rectangular hinged pieces that can be moved around to create the shape and size of home that you want. Heated and cooled rooms can be closed in to maximize energy use in the home. Rooms can easily be changed around with panels folding down to create tables and chairs meaning that you can use a much smaller home and still have all of the rooms and seating areas that you might need. Panels can be left open to take advantage of natural ventilation and natural sunlight.

Wind-Shaped Pavilion

One of my favorite designs that Jantzen has come up with is his wind-shaped pavilion. This is a fabric-based building that is designed to change shape as well as to be illuminated at night. What makes it green? Well, the reason that it changes shape is because it is designed to accommodate the wind blowing against it. That wind energy is then collected and utilized for the illumination. It’s a lightweight structure that can be used at festivals and other events.

Homestead House

The Homestead House is yet another example of a modular design for a building that is supposed to be entirely off-the-grid. This one is interesting because of the fact that it is designed using the type of steel and other materials that are typically used in agricultural buildings rather than in homes. Another interesting material that is used in this one is newspaper which helps to insulate the home.

Now if only we could get people to buy and build the designs that Jantzen creates as quickly and prolifically as he creates them!