8/9/2023 0 Comments Silo house![]() The silo was built to store grain grown on the original Lake Huron land tract granted to Maxwell commune founder Henry Jones, and stands today at the intersection of Brigden and Hamilton roads. The fridge and stove were installed in the 1970s, and how the movers got them up the tight stairwell is anybody’s guess, Grant says. The stairs – all 44 of them – lead up to a bathroom and bedroom on the second floor, and above that to the kitchen.Įverything, from the oddball-sized bed to the cupboards and drawers, are custom-fit for the curved walls. ![]() The heart of the silo home is a circular iron staircase salvaged from a burned Petrolia church in the 1940s by the Braybrook family, who converted the structure to habitable space. “I lost 10 pounds the first month I was here.” “But when you want a beer you have to run up to the third floor,” she added. “When people first see it they love it because it’s so strange,” said Patti Grant, who bought the silo and its attached home with husband Doug in 2007. ![]() The “Silo House” in Bright’s Grove is four floors of handcrafted originality packed into a converted grain silo built in 1842 for the community’s first farm. One of Sarnia’s funkiest homes is also one of its oldest structures. Silo City is a one-year project with the Center for Art and Urbanistics which runs until July 31, 2014. The goal was to “look at the standard way of living from a different angle,” said Körbes. It acts as an ‘urban parasite’ to the Center for Art and Urbanistics building, connected for electricity and extra water. “I can go autonomous with my solar panels but when next to city infrastructure it is much more logical and challenging to attach to and parasite the existing city systems,” he said. To the right, drawers from old desks make a new makeshift closet.īut the silo house is not entirely independent. The sleeping area is crowned by a skylight from a plastic factory that went bankrupt and over to the left, there’s a small desk where Körbes’ daughter draws and does homework. The second floor is accessed with recycled climbing grips. “The urine gets filtered by a plant system and the excrement gets collected and dried from compost,” said Körbes. A special toilet in a separate room separates urine and excrement. Down a ladder to the basement, you find the water tanks holding Körbes's supply. It operates on five liters of circulated water mixed with rainwater, while 80 liters of drinking water is added to the supply every two weeks. The shower is tucked away in what looks like a closet. The interior is largely furnished by recycled items. Almost everything is recycled, including the water. The ceiling has a camera, pointed below, which documents life in the silo (parties, events and construction). All around, there are shelves made from fridge doors, a stovetop hotplate from a British ship, and a wood oven burning collected waste. Underneath the kitchen table is a heated bathtub to warm your feet. The kitchen floor is made from recycled cork, while the windows are odd shaped ones that were never used. The wood is sourced from construction sites or wood benches. The house is insulated by “a thermo sandwich,” as Körbes calls it, about seven centimeters thick and filled with recycled paper, aluminum heat reflector foil, wood, and polyester. In a house with no corners, things are built into the walls and floors. Just up the old scaffolding stairs and inside the 13 square meter space, everything in the silo is cleverly organized. “It's an approach to a different kind of living,” Körbes said. The silo came in from the Netherlands and was installed by crane.
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