http://www.dezeen.com/2007/02/01/tom-kundigs-delta-shelter/

Nice structure.

Nice. I actually like it, never been too fond of modern architecture.

where is the gun vault?

Would be very cool in diamond plate.

Like one giant oven cookin away in the hot summer sun.

Very nice. Looks very buildable too.
Is that what you are shooting, Theduardo?

I kind of like the modern style shown. I think its a design which is very friendly for recycled material. For example, I have scrounged up two sliding glass door panels. They are about 40"x72" ea. I was planning on using them as giant windows in my cabin. One idea I like in the building above is the large sliding door/shutters to cover the glass.

Thing is, I cannot build anything like that now. The price of steel is too high these days. Its funny in many ways, for over 15 years I have been thinking about all the different steel designs I wanted to use for a house when I finally got acreage. Now after I finally bought the land, steel went up in price so high I cannot use it cost effectively

Wood and timber of all things has actually stayed pretty steady in price. Granted there was a "blip" after Hurricane Katrina. But you can buy lumber and wood sheet goods for nearly the same price as 2-3 years ago. When yo factor in inflation and the devaluation of the dollar, wood has gone down in price.

I feel that pain also. I am waiting for some of these old buildings in town to be torn down. I have bid te steel so I can hopefully get a good deal on the scrap. As long as they dont bend it I can cut enough out for scrap to build the last underground edition. I will stick with wood for the top because the cost is going to kill even the best budget. We are planning to tear down the old farm house and reuse every piece of wood, even if its just in the fireplace. The building shown in the photos would cost a fortune now days. I have been trying to collect pipe but even that is going up.
I am going at three today to bid on another old tear down. Hope I get it. Its a 15'x15'x15' pipe shed but ize takes what ize can getz. You know what I mean.

Why is the kitchen at the top? Wouldn't it be better in the winter time for the kitchen to be on the ground or middle, for heat?

Wonder of you could use something like glue lams or laminated wood beams in the pace of steel?
I've seen laminated beams used a lot, but can you use something like for the corner posts?

Theduardo, what do you think the cost on something like that would be given the price of steel? Materials alone, and materials + labor?

Theduardo- Thanks alot my wife just fell in live with this houe. Dont know how much of it we will be doing in steel but I think we have a winner. My fire place will be a double one up stairs (small) one down staires (bigger). She still wants spiral stairs though. I like them because I know how to build them. She wants the metal covers over the windows and same type of thing over the solar panels on the side of the house for bad weather (oh hail).

I think Last Stand said it best -

Guessing the estimated steel cost for materials and labor... thats a hard one seeing I cannot adequately guess material size and thicknesses from the photos. The scrap steel price right now is around $0.50 per pound.

For example, if they were using W-section "I" beams, the material is identified and sold like this. Where the weight is based on material length. Whatever the going price for that alloy is going for that day per pound is the price.

As a guestimate, lets say the W-type I beam is W10X22. Meaning that the beam has a 10" long flange (center of the "I") and weighs 22lbs a foot. I think this could work for building a multi-level 16x16' floor plan without issue. Each 20' long stick of that beam would cost around $700 ea if bought from the yard as of last week. Not including transportation or labor.

The sheet metal components I have no idea on. Its difficult to tell how thick the panels are.

Still, a crew of 3 skilled works with chain hoists could put together the basic frame of that structure less than a week. Less than that if the concrete footings were poured at the same elevation and all the material was shop cut. If you look, the vertical uprights/columns are all about 8' in length. It was not constructed with single beams for the entire height. It was pieced together and welded one level at a time.

I would be interested in seeing some close up photos of the weld connections. But even so, they would all be just glorified multi-pass fillet welds. So, its not to hard to put it together.

My labor guestimate for putting together the base superstructure would be around $7k cash. And the crew would make a decent wage building it too. You could cut it as low as $3k... but you get what you pay for. Having it welded to American Welding Society Code VS Backyard Welding Society.

Yes, glulams can be used for columns as well as beams. You'd want to protect them from the weather, though. They don't do well when exposed.

Personally, I think the structure looks cool but it's a bad idea. It's going to be cold as hell in the winter and hot as hell in the summer. And you'd get tired of climbing the damned stairs pretty quick. I can't figure out why anyone would want to build such a small footprint and go three levels with it. That's very, very impractical. I'm sure it's great for the views, but otherwise it sucks having to go up and down like that.

Looks like something you'd see tromping around in a Mech video game. I actually kind of like it, especially set against the backdrop of the snow and trees. The visual dichotomy of modern engineering and primal nature.