“The house of tomorrow” hides a whole genealogy of mechanistic projects, developed under a perspective of energy and resource self-sufficiency. Since the mid-20th century, disciples of Buckminster Fuller and the New Alchemy Institute have been creating fully autonomous functional prototypes thanks to regenerative metabolic cycles. Today, it is essential to contextualize these mechanistic models to the demands of contemporary society. Evolving the theory of dwelling, implies adjusting the domestic space to our current need to build a reconciliation between environment and home. In order to achieve an approach towards the constitution of a self-sustainable habitable ensemble, it is crucial to demonstrate the role that architecture plays here as a mediation mechanism. It is precisely by understanding the metamorphosis undergone by the self-sufficient habitat, that the principles on which to build “the house of today and tomorrow” can be clarified.