The Chassis House
Affordable, sustainable and uniquely flexible

Above: One version (of many!) showing the Chassis House with a front porch.

Introducing the Chassis House, a new concept in homebuilding that is affordable, sustainable and uniquely flexible. We're working on plans in 3 sizes, to be available soon for sale. For more information, contact Christi@DesignCoalition.org

The concept starts with a straightforward, pre-designed envelope – “the chassis” – that can be finished inside however as needed.

Click for a brief video introduction to the Chassis House

It’s an integrated shell-and-core design that incorporates passive solar principles and rooftop solar panels, minimum-resource framing techniques, and natural, sustainable materials.

We’ve designed the Chassis House for healthy indoor air quality, and excellent energy efficiency for cold U.S. climates, with thick walls using our advanced straw-clay technology and cellulose insulation.

The key is affordability through simplicity. With our unique system of construction, all the structural loads handled by the exterior walls and just a few posts inside. That way, the home’s wide-open interior volume can easily adapt to life’s transitions.

The Chassis House was given it’s name by Scott Cherry, one of our favorite natural homebuilders, of Santa Fe, New Mexico. We've talked for years about the need for good, modest-sized, Architect-designed plans that would make high-performance natural homes affordable. Scott liked the notion of the way a single vehicle chassis could be addapted to many styles of body. Hence, the concept for a straightforward house shell that anyone could customize. The idea proved to be a perfect fit for our advanced framing-with-straw-clay infill system.