Wondering what it’s like to live in Memel in an elegant, rammed-earth, passive-solar home in a working permaculture landscape? Stay in our guest house, and experience all that we’re doing here!
The guest house provides a tactile, visceral experience of living in a sustainable, natural environment. It is built of rammed earth, beautifully daylit, and connected to the outside world. Nestled into the Memel Organics farm, the house is located on the future site of the Memel Cohousing Community.
Designed by Caddis PC architects and built by Bright Mariko and Ted Kellogg, the guest house is based on contemporary, climate-driven design principles that create an elegant and connected human habitation experience. We built the guest house to show what’s possible with new approaches to architecture and construction techniques – ideas we’re also putting to use as we create the Memel Cohousing Community and that were demonstrated further in the Zamani microcommunity.
With direct-gain, passive-solar construction, the house is perfect for Memel’s climate. The house’s construction was labor-intensive and material-cheap. Cabinetry and finishes were handmade with reclaimed materials. The floors are polished, radiant concrete slabs that are heated by the sun by a solar thermal system. All of the fixtures are water-efficient and release runoff into gray water beds.
The guest house offers two small units that are much like hotel rooms. There is also a one-bedroom apartment. It includes a kitchen, but guests are invited to take their evening meals in the Common House, where they’ll have the opportunity to meet others in the Memel-Zamani community.
Learn more or make a reservation. Let’s get started!