The donor subframe, teetering in the driveway.

Before I can tear down the garage to build the house, I have to empty the garage.

What's in there?  A 1965 Volkswagen, sans drivetrain.

Sans fenders and decklid, too.  I've started taking apart the rear end of the donor chassis, and it'll go underneath what you see above.

Graypants just blew my mind.  Maybe I will flatter them through imitation, and make myself a couple.

My project fits the Lifecycle Building Challenge so well that I'm considering getting my plan in presentation-quality text and pictures in time to submit it!  In so many ways, it's a sequence of re-use.

I saw three different places I could start the project at this point.

Yamaha has some cool new design ideas for efficient personal transportation.  Now I want to go on an electric bike/scooter design kick.

How does one heat an energy efficient home?  If you do it right, the sun does it for you.  Having lots of well-insulated south-facing windows and a deciduous tree nearby is a common trick, but that's just a beginning to how it works.  It turns out there is help available in designing a highly effective system to heat passively: PassivHaus.  They've done all the math and testing to give you specific combinations that work, within the temperate climates that exist in most of the US and Europe.

I haven't applied for building permits before, or poured concrete, or altered roofing, or been present for a city building code inspection.  My dad has done most of those, which is great, and I've had some drafting training.  Still, a whole house is a bit daunting for my first attempt, even with the resources available to me.  Here's the plan: start with a porch for the "host house" (which we've affectionately called the Foster Home).