Originally written:  May 2005

Let’s imagine that we are Martians coming down to earth and seeking to build ourselves a new home for our new life here on this jewel of a blue-green planet.  We are, as Martians of course, well connected to an extraordinary knowledge base and extremely rational in our behavior, but also passionate about the arts. We therefore approach this project almost like a science experiment, but want it to come out looking drop-dead gorgeous!  As well as being concerned about performance-under-fire, we are also extremely cognizant of and sensitive to energy usage and environmental footprint issues.

There have been many threads at the virtual conference table concerning the choice between trusses and SIPs for roofs, HVAC systems for SIPs and the use of an engineer and/or architect.  In my thinking these are all related and it is important for the prospective DIY homeowner to think about the final value of his project being a function of the process utilized to bring it into being.

Even if we choose not to think of the home as an integrated system, Mother Nature (the laws of physics) will have her way.  If the home is conceived of and built in the conventional way with individual components glommed onto a conventional structure we may characterize it as non-integrated, but Mother Nature will experience