Open Source Housing
Open Source Housing
Derek Sherrell shows a low cost, open source house that he built in 90 days. He is giving away the plans for free for anyone who wants to build their own.
Open source is a wonderful concept that should be applied to everything, not just software.
I came across these guys a while ago.
This is great. The more people subscribe to open source, the better it will get for everyone.
very cool. don't see a license, though. no open source license => not open source.
Are house designs covered by copyright?
You could always write to him and ask him to specify a licence.
Architectural blueprints have been explicitly covered by copyright in the US since 1990, but were likely implicitly covered before then.
He could always provide an open-source license before claiming that he is "open sourcing" his designs. You could always check for a license before claiming that something is open-source. Putting the onus on people after the fact to make those previous claims true doesn't make any sense.
Yes. Under 17 U.S. Code § 102 (a) (8). Blueprints might be under (a) (5) too but I'm not an expert.
(a) Copyright protection subsists, in accordance with this title, in original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device. Works of authorship include the following categories:
- (1) literary works;
- (2) musical works, including any accompanying words;
- (3) dramatic works, including any accompanying music;
- (4) pantomimes and choreographic works;
- (5) pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works;
- (6) motion pictures and other audiovisual works;
- (7) sound recordings; and
- (8) architectural works.
We should aks him to publicly state the license recommending CC BY-SA, yes
Did the guy explicitly say in his video that he intended these to be "open source?" 'Cause otherwise, as far as I can tell, there's nothing that actually gives anybody else permission to copy, modify, and redistribute. In other words, they're proprietary "freeware," at best.
The blueprint title block needs to have a field that explicitly names the license (Creative Commons or whatever), because otherwise it's © Design Residential, Inc. All Rights Reserved, by default.
he does mention they "open source everything they do to make housing more attainable and more affordable" at 10:48
but I agree they need to put up a proper license
If you want a more sustainable option (read: higher density, multi-family housing) that's actually licensed openly, checkout Eco-Libre's designs for the Launch-Nest.
The structure is designed to house 30 people (18 meters x 7 meters, 5-stories high), off-grid solar PV (energy) and thermal (heating, cooking), and walls are made of CEB pressed on-site.
Eco-Libre Launch Nest We're still in the design phase, but the FreeCAD files are public and licensed CC BY-SA.
Gives me Ready Player One distopian trailer-homes stacked on top of each other Section-8/shitty favela housing vibes.
Alright, gotta say that this is really cool. Has the same vibes as a Sears catalogue house, which is one of my favorite pieces of Americana.
I think this is going to look like crap in 10 years. I support building your own, I just think it can be done way better.