Beyond the Box – Dan Phillips to Speak in The Woodlands

Dan Phillips builds wildly creative, unconventional houses in Huntsville for single parents, artists, and low-income families who otherwise would not be able to own a home. He uses only apprentice labor and teaches marketable skills to anyone with a work ethic who is willing to swing a hammer. By keeping labor costs low and using recycled, donated, and salvaged building supplies, Phillips creates homes that are truly affordable: $20,000 to $50,000 by his definition.

Phillips is an engaging, entertaining, enthusiastic speaker who has been featured internationally, from The New York Times and O magazine to the Discovery Channel and HGTV. He will share his perspectives on building “beyond the box” in The Woodlands on February 21. His presentation, sponsored by The Woodlands G.R.E.E.N, the U.S.G.B.C. Piney Woods chapter, the Houston Advanced Research Center, and Northwoods Green, is at 7 p.m. February 21, at Rico’s Grill on Sawdust Road in The Woodlands.

Phillips has said he believes it is in everyone’s DNA to want to be a builder, from playing with blocks, making a fort with a sheet over the dining table, and building tree houses. About 15 years ago, this self-taught carpenter, electrician, and plumber decided to pursue that dream, launching Phoenix Commotion, a building initiativecreated to prove that constructing homes with recycled and salvaged materials has a viable place in the building industry. That was after a variety of careers, including working as an Army intelligence officer, a college dance instructor, an antiques dealer, and a syndicated cryptogram puzzle maker. Phillips’s eclectic background serves him well now, as 80 percent of the building materials are salvaged from other construction projects, hauled out of trash heaps, or just picked up from the side of the road. The trick, he says, is to put it all together in a disciplined, orderly design so it doesn't look like trash.

Phillips knows his small-scale housing ventures in Huntsville are not enough to save the world. But they're an important start, a model for others who want to build or remodel in a sustainable, affordable way, too.
For information contact Donna Mosher at 281-681-8166 or donnamosher@me.com

Beyond the Box by Dan Phillips
by The Woodlands GREEN, USGBC Piney Woods, Northwoods Green, and HARC (Houston Advanced Research Center)