While searching for the perfect building materials to construct a new home, turning to recycled gas pipes is likely the last option a typical homebuilder or architect would settle on. However, this is exactly what Canadian architecture firm DINS Projects decided on while building a unique cottage located near Lake Winnipeg. Due in part to the area’s flood problem, DINS went with the odd choice of recycled gas pipes to stilt the house, helping to protect it from damage should flooding occur. The finished product is a vertical marvel that sits perfectly against its nearby Canadian wilderness.
After a provincial cottage lot lottery system secured the unique plot of land for the owners, DINS Projects went to work designing a home that not only boasts the ability to avoid flooding but one which also abides by the strict regulations native to the area. Aside from limiting how close to Lake Winnipeg the house sits, the firm also had to overcome the issue of the lot’s overburden and its extremely permeable surface. By building it on stilts, its high water table simply becomes an annoyance for anyone walking around outside the home instead of it posing an actual water damage threat.
With its stilts built out of recycled gas pipes, the residence’s three-story interior is composed mainly of exposed wood studs and plywood. To achieve maximum thermal efficiency, an insulation jacket covers the entirety of the abode, along with a network of internal ducting to give the owners the ability to specifically manage its airflow. However, its lone source of ongoing heat comes from a strategically placed cast iron wood stove.
Dubbed as the Pole House, its biggest claim to fame is the fact the architecture firm was able to turn ordinary gas pipes into a useful set of stilts and construct it to look like a natural part of the environment. With an open floor plan and a mainly basic (and casual) interior, it’s hard to imagine this serving as anything more than a weekend getaway for its owners.
Outdoor security cameras are not always practical if you live in an apartment or rental. Drilling into an exterior wall may be off-limits, while pointing a regular indoor camera through a window can create another problem once reflections start showing up after dark.
Baseus is trying to solve both issues with the new PrimeSentinel W1, a $69.99 security camera designed specifically to monitor the outdoors through glass. It mounts directly to a window without drilling and uses a 4K Starlight sensor with an F1.0 aperture for full-color monitoring during the day and at night.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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With AI progressing so fast, it's only a matter of time before we start getting AI companions like the ones we used to see in movies like R2-D2, Wall-E, or Baymax. Now, Singapore-based OKA Technology has unveiled Mori, a cute little AI companion that looks less like a conventional home robot and more like someone turned the Pokémon Foongus into a table lamp.
Mori isn't meant to clean your house or control your smart home, but to serve as what OKA calls a "Nature Companion." It uses subtle movements, warm lighting, nature-inspired sounds, and small reactions to make its presence around the house feel calming rather than distracting. Mori can sit quietly while you read, sway along to music, welcome you when you enter a room, or encourage you to slow down for a moment without requiring a screen or a conversation.