by Ana Lisa Alperovich
filed under: Architecture, Recycled Materials, Sustainable Materials, Treehouses

‘One man’s rubbish is another man’s gold’ and Dan Phillips has proven that age old truism through his construction business Phoenix Commotion. A trained architect from Huntsville, Texas, Mr. Phillips helps people build their own affordable dream homes with recycled materials that most people would consider useless. Up until now, he has helped construct 14 houses, each of which have welcomed low-income, first-time buyers to the world of home ownership.

Photo © Phoenix Commotion
When Dan Phillips was a child, he saw his parents suffer through the Great Depression years and he quickly learned to value what he had. When he was 14 years old he built a bicycle completely out of scrap materials collected at a nearby dumpsite. And after that first bike, he never looked back.
To build these wonderful and enchanting homes — often made up of 75+% of recycled materials — Mr. Phillips and his builders use what is available to them locally. This ranges from scrap wood leftovers, mismatched bricks and tiles, bottle tops and corks, and even bones he’s collected from a nearby cattle yard. In fact, one of Huntsville’s houses, the Bone House, has a complete range of furniture made from cattle bones, like this customized quirky table and chairs that come with a spine.
(Source: www.inhabitat.com )