Last summer, eight students at the University of Utah's College of Architecture and Planning designed a three-bedroom desert home that generates its own electricity and water and is situated in Bluff, Utah, 22 miles from the nearest town.

This private home, designed for resident Rosie Joe and her two children of the Navajo reservation, took a merit award in American Institute of Architects Utah's 2004 design competition.

The house is built of an energy-efficient material known as rammed earth.
Solar panels generate enough electricity to light the house and power small appliances, while the stove and fridge are fueled by propane.

But the most striking element is the 2,500-square-foot "butterfly" roof floating over the house to collect rainwater. One inch of rainfall fills the house's cistern, which supplies water to the kitchen and bathroom.

Construction of the house, done with volunteer student labor and recycled materials, took 16 weeks and cost $21,219.58.

Building the house was part of Professor Hank Louis' method: students have to work on site to earn hours of U credit. Previously, they also built "The House That Decency Built," a straw bale insulation house for a nine-member Tibetan immigrant family in Salt Lake City.

(Via Archinect.)