unique green homes

Building a home can be a very intensive process, from the planning to the materials purchasing to the actual construction. And some innovative people have made the process very unique and earth-conscious.

From buildings made out of plastic bottles, to housed inside shipping containers, to using old airplane wings, some homes around the country and world are completely recycled and eco-friendly.

Probably my favorite recycled home is Malibu, California's Wing House.

Photo: ABC7, Los Angeles

The home, built starting in 2006, utilizes wings and many smaller parts from a Boeing airplane that was considered scrap metal. The home takes advantage of the landscape, location and beach views. In addition to the construction materials, the main residence and other buildings use solar power, radiant heating, natural ventilation and insulating window glass. The wing pieces were transported to the house's location by helicopter and police escort down the freeways. 

You can read more about the Wing House and view more pictures at Earth911.

If you're near Carlton, Oregon, you can choose to stay in a bed and breakfast built out of repurposed corn silos.

Photo: Abbey Road Farm, via Earth911

Or you can rent a water tower townhouse in London. The home began its renovation in 2009 and is owned by British furniture designer Tom Dixon. You can see more photos of the townhouse, including interior shots, over at Inhabitat.

Photo: David Hawgood, via Earth911

Earth911 also features a sea fort resort in England and a plastic bottle exhibition hall in Taiwan.

Flavorwire features 10 amazing recycled houses, including a beer can house and a grain silo house.

Photo: Peter Mier

Photo: Gigaplex Architects

WebEcoist also has a feature on homes made from reclaimed building materials. They show homes made with tires and even boats.

Photos: Global Giving and Making This Home, via WebEcoist

Photos: Sea-Fever.org and MR38, via WebEcoist

And I can't leave out shipping container homes, which are growing in popularity. Mother Nature Network features eight great shipping container homes, some of which don't look like their former selves. 

Photo: lwarc.com, via MNN

On less grand scales, The Phoenix Commotion is an initiative to build affordable, energy-efficient recycled-material homes for lower-income residents.

Photo: The Phoenix Commotion

It's fun to dream about the endless possibilities of using recycled materials to build your very own house, and to dream of how you can repurpose almost anything in order to build a house.

What's your favorite type of recycled house? I'm partial to the beauty of the Wing House, and could see myself living in a repurposed shipping container one day. But even if that never happens, I can guarantee my future house will incorporate recycled materials throughout!