Environmental Alternatives

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• Finished product
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• Comments on function and form
• Who is Dean Petrich?  Read about Dean's life.

The basic premises for this house were:

1.  to construct an entire house out of garbage -- discarded materials -- as a demonstration of how much waste still has value.
2.  to design a structure that I could build from start to finish by myself.
3.  to use locally available resources, materials and labor if necessary.
4.  to encorporate non-toxic and net-energy efficient components.
5.  to orient the structure to the environment aesthetically.
6.  to fashion a self-sufficient space capable of operating comfortably with an autonomous source of power, water, heat, & waste disposal.
7.  to employ renewable resources, such as solar, wind, rainwater, composting toilets, etc.
8.  to make a living structure that is maleable and not confined to a rigid form, so that as situations change, walls and spaces can be altered,
it doesn't matter if things get banged or scratched, and the basic feel is one of comfort.
9.  to create a space that never ceases to inspire.
10.  to open the space to be shared with others.
11.  to encorporate three primary components in every aspect of contruction -- everything in the buildings and the yard must be: