MISSION

EXOTIC

THEMED

Mini Vernaculars

HBC believes that people are interested in unique and unusual buildings from around the world. As a lot of these buildings use proven techniques many hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of years old they are highly efficient at performing useful tasks like ventilation, heat retention and damp avoidance. Most of the materials they are built with are close to hand (meaning they are cheap), and this cuts down transportation costs which directly affects the time taken to complete the build. Vernacular just means "of the area" and is a term given to localised architecture around the world. There is much to be learned and applied for the eco self builder from studying such buildings.

All the buildings we have chosen for this gallery are pretty spectacular visually. You may not personally wish to live in most of them but we guarantee there will be something there to inspire you, or give you a starting point for your own dream home. HBC specialises in building scaled structures similar to these as stand alone mini vernaculars which can perform the function of a home office, a retreat to get away from it all, a summer house to invite and impress guests, or even just a playhouse for the kids.

The point is they are categorised as sheds within certain height and distance restrictions in the UK, hence there is no long discussions and delays with the local council concerning planning permission. What they do, unlike a garden shed, is add considerable value to a property - more so than a typical roof extension to a house.

Its very hard to give these buildings names so all we have done is to try and categorise them by the materials they are built with or where they share certain structural similarities. Each page is devoted to one category, by clicking on the smaller images on that page you can see a larger version in detail. Prepare to feast your eyes!