Building Green In Japan As Home Sizes Increase

Aluminum is becoming a popular building material as many in Japan are looking to build newer, larger homes thanks to the gradual decline in population over the last 50 years. As the population declines, the average floor area of a typical home has increased from 63 square meters to 94 square meters between 1964 and 2004.

"Serkan Anilir is working at the University of Tokyo on plans for a new type of home which takes such environmental concerns even further."

"He wants to create an 'infrastructure-free house' using technology inspired by biology to try to reach the point where it no longer relies on energy or other services from outside."

"The design would be guided by work already in progress on building space stations. The aim is the same - to create a living environment that's totally self-reliant."