Broader Thoughts...

I guess this should have been said before (today its raining so its time to write) the intiatives of Neil Gershenfeld's FABLAB's is also the essence of what this experiment is all about. My aim was to make a work/live dwelling that could function like a tree (or simple computer) that would be less than $10,000 to build. In fact until now I have only spent $2,000 on materials (including some expensive lexan which i may never use) so its about how to open the door to a completely different design and production process that is ridiculously cheap.

This is also the reason that the building elements are simple cut 300x2440 pieces from standard plywood sheets (1220x2440 or 8'x4') which are then simply clicked together like lego.
The panel design is such that a computer controlled routing machine could easily produce them.

The polycarbonate louvres are much the same size, based around the length of standard aluminium/rubber door seals which I'm using for double seal between louvres. These are then screwed into pvc tubes (normally used for household wiring) and the tubes are threaded through the click-joints in the plywood 'click-leaf' panels. Once refined the whole system will be extremely simple and quick to assemble. Ideally the whole thing should be able to be fabricated in a Fab Lab. Then D.I.Y (do it yourself) constructed on site.

links to FABLAB's
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/neil_gershenfeld_on_fab_labs.html
http://www.fablab.nl/
http://fablab.blip.tv/#387069
http://www.waag.org/project/fablab