Hello, My name is Michael. I created this project to show people what a sustainable house could look like to help the world become a better place. I made this house from a cardboard box and a few house hold items. It's important to know why sustainable houses are important on earth to make the world a cleaner place, and how they affect day to day life. This house was built to show what a sustainable house in Hawaii could look like. The biome in which my house is located in is usually hot from June to October and cool from December to March. The house can also be affected by the near by volcanoes and ocean.

Supplies

The supplies used in the project was a medium to big cardboard box, straws, colored pencils, paper, a ruler, a hot glue gun, brown paper, a piece of green felt, tape, and scissors.

Step 1: What Is a Biome?

A biome is a large specific location created by its vegetation, soil, climate, and wildlife. There are five major types of biomes: aquatic, grassland, forest, desert, and tundra. These biomes can also be further divided into different sections. The house I built is a representation of what a sustainable house in Hawaii could look like. The Hawaiian jungles are a tropical moist broad leaf forest on the islands. This area is one of the world's wettest places on earth with an average of 373 inches (9,500 mm) of rainfall per year. There are also volcanoes around which typically are underwater. The sunlight and the rays of the sun in Hawaii is pretty strong due to the fact Hawaii is close to the equator. The temperature of Hawaii is typically hot but can be cool from December to March. These are the main reasons that influenced the design of my house. I believe that it is important that houses are sustainable so that they can help the world be cleaner from pollution and global warming.

Step 2: Design

I started off my design with a sketch of how I wanted it to look like. As the house may not look exactly like the sketches I made, it's ok if you change it mid way through. I wanted the house to be small with the minimal rooms needed without a lot of unused space. I wanted at least one side of the roof to be slanted in which I could then put solar panels on. I then had the other side of the roof flat so that I could put my own representation of a garden. I then just put walls on the side as every other house has. After I was all done sketching out the design it was time to start building!

Step 3: Build

I first had to get a cardboard box. I then started to think about how I wanted to cut the box up effectively to conserve as much as possible. I first decided to cut out the base of the house. I sketched out a representation on the cardboard of what I had on my sketches. I then started to cut the base. When I was done cutting out the base I then decided I could use the creases of the box to help make the walls. I had measured out 8 inch tall walls. The creases then helped so that I could put them anywhere I pleased. The cardboard pieces where 16 inches tall so I could get 2 walls out of 1 piece, which gave me 4 of the main walls used for the house. I had then decided to draw a line at 8 inches and cut along that line. When I was done cutting all my walls, I had to assemble them. Next, I started firing up the glue gun. In the next part you may need assistance with the walls. I had my dad hold the walls in place for me so I could use the hot glue gun and glue the walls to the base. I did that with all the walls. Next was the roof. I realized that the roof was going to be harder than I thought, so I had to change my idea. With the left over cardboard I decided I would have a tall slanted roof and a flat one. I first used a big piece of cardboard and shaped it in the way of a slant. I knew I had to then connect a piece of the walls with the roof to keep it stable. It turned out I had the perfect length and width for the roof so I didn't really have to do anything. I started to put the slanted roof in place and with the help of my dad I hot glued the roof in place. With the flat roof left, I measured the square that was there and cut out a little piece of cardboard for it, and placed it on top. For the final step of the build I wrapped the entire house with brown paper and hot glued it in place with little dots the size of a pea.

Step 4: Sustainable Aspects of the Home

In my house I have 7 main sustainable aspects. This includes, solar panels, a water tank, gutters, a garden, the house is made out of recyclable materials, it's small to conserve energy, and it has wide windows to let more energy in. Solar panels help make a house more sustainable since it can use the energy of the sun to keep the house running and have it be able to function. A water tank makes a house more sustainable since it can store left over rain and water to be used another time. Gutters may not be the biggest help for sustainability but they lead into the water thanks. This is due to the fact of when it rains, the gutters can catch the run off of the water and bring it down into a tube leading into the water tank. A garden is a very nice sustainable aspect because it doesn't just help you but helps the environment within the world by giving green back into the world and also food. Having a house that's built out of recyclable materials is very useful. When the house is no longer in use or is needed for a repair, the old part of the house can be recycled and used to build a new sustainable house or more. Having a small house also helps make it more sustainable. As the smaller the house the less energy it will need to use to run all the everyday tasks needed to be done. Finally, wide windows. Wide windows are very helpful and sustainable since you won't have to use any lights furring the day and not as much heat due the high efficient windows transferring the energy throughout the house.

Step 5: Conclusion

In conclusion, you don't need to build a sustainable house to learn what sustainability is and how we can help our world and biomes around us. I do though recommend trying out an experiment on building something sustainable in a certain biome to learn and get a deeper understanding about sustainability. I have learned that there are many different biomes and ecosystems around us and that it's important to keep the environment healthy so that we can help the animals and plants living there. You don't have to copy my house exactly alike, since it's always good to get your mind thinking and be creative. That is all I have for this instructable and I hope you have fun!