Check out this place: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toFBj9qBLQo
Sorry I can’t find a way to embed the video in this post (any suggestions welcome), but I think this place is pretty amazing. No, not for the opulence of the setting and some of the furnishings, but for the vast array of building ideas that it sparks for me.
No need to buy the frame, it looks pretty simple to make. Even some non-structural pine framing from Bunnings would still be pretty cheap. Add recycled windows from the secondhand timber yard.
No need to buy or make the tents, maybe old advertising banners would cover the frame equally well.
How about the pipe work on the deck. Looks an awful lot like I could build the same with some steel fence pipe sections and fittings and some cage mesh from the hardware.
I love it when the videos show so much of the construction details. This is definitely filed away in the “inspirational ideas” folder.
Sustainable @ Lockyer Valley 
In my opinion, whether or not the framed tent construction method is applicable depends on a range of factors. These include: local climate (as Mike notes), whether permanence is a requirement (land tenure can be a part of this consideration – if you only have temporary occupancy rights, for example, or you may want non-permanent visitor accommodation), the materials available, the nature of the site (soils, slope, etc.), the purpose of the structures, etc.
Our WWOOFers have until now lived in a tent (in Southeast Queensland), even during winter. It’s a matter of siting out of the wind, insulation under the floor, adequate bedding and clothing.
I could see the framed tent structures being constructed using old advertising banners for skins. I worked on a house construction for friends where the materials storage was under “sheds” made using these; they are UV stabilised, very thick, and highly resistant to damage. They seemed to be as good when the build finished as when it started more than a year earlier. Only $50 for a very large banner, and far better than seeing them go directly to the landfill.
Windows and doors would be secondhand, and reusable when the structures were no longer required. Floors could be recycled material, concrete formwork from a large building site, for instance. Frames could be recycled hardwood, or recycled galvanized round fencing, as in the outdoor framing in the video.
Might be OK in California, but I couldn’t live in one of those here (near Gympie) where temperatures can vary from zero (or below) to over 40.. Besides, all the materials live vinyl and canvas have a limited life also.
I’ve built a house that should last a couple of hundred years……. and requires no heating or cooling at all. For reasons I won’t delve in right here, I could’ve used a lot less concrete, bu I strongly believe that building out of HEAVY materials (the first choice being rammed earth or bricks) with good insulation (strawbale is best).