Century House
BUILD by the Century, LIVE by the Century
BUILD by the Century, LIVE by the Century
What is 100 Miles?
It’sfurther than you can see and walk, but it’s an easy drive. So why 100 miles?
The100 mile diet has a critical issue, wherein the ecological benefit of locallyproduced food can easily be overwhelmed by the inefficiency of a rusty farmer’struck. Only by avoiding this last dirty step can a 100 mile diet be inarguably‘better’ than food from a greater distance. There is a reason the phrase is not‘Pollute Local, Think Global’.
Why100 miles then? Why not 50, or 200? All are hard to ‘feel’ as a pedestrianwhile still essentially inconsequential by car.
100miles though can be experienced by bike, as a Century! It’s a good, long day’sbike ride, taking most about 8 hours to finish, so a Century is, at its core,the simple result of a good hard day’s work.
Howcan a bike relate to building a house?
Afast bike is one which is strong, durable, and lightweight - so too should be ahouse. For a house to ‘sit lightly’ on the earth, it must not consumedisproportionate resources, so it too must be strong and light. A house mustalso be durable, otherwise its repair and maintenance will create waste. Thislightweight/durable house will cost less to build and maintain, allowing thelifestyle of its occupants to be sustainable economically as well asecologically.
Ahouse, like a meal, cannot be inarguably sustainable if the last miles of itstravel are unsustainable. The Century house will be built efficiently only frommaterials transported to the site by bicycle.
The last miles will therefore be theCentury House’s best, not its worst.
It’sfurther than you can see and walk, but it’s an easy drive. So why 100 miles?
The100 mile diet has a critical issue, wherein the ecological benefit of locallyproduced food can easily be overwhelmed by the inefficiency of a rusty farmer’struck. Only by avoiding this last dirty step can a 100 mile diet be inarguably‘better’ than food from a greater distance. There is a reason the phrase is not‘Pollute Local, Think Global’.
Why100 miles then? Why not 50, or 200? All are hard to ‘feel’ as a pedestrianwhile still essentially inconsequential by car.
100miles though can be experienced by bike, as a Century! It’s a good, long day’sbike ride, taking most about 8 hours to finish, so a Century is, at its core,the simple result of a good hard day’s work.
Howcan a bike relate to building a house?
Afast bike is one which is strong, durable, and lightweight - so too should be ahouse. For a house to ‘sit lightly’ on the earth, it must not consumedisproportionate resources, so it too must be strong and light. A house mustalso be durable, otherwise its repair and maintenance will create waste. Thislightweight/durable house will cost less to build and maintain, allowing thelifestyle of its occupants to be sustainable economically as well asecologically.
Ahouse, like a meal, cannot be inarguably sustainable if the last miles of itstravel are unsustainable. The Century house will be built efficiently only frommaterials transported to the site by bicycle.
The last miles will therefore be theCentury House’s best, not its worst.
