The Low Down On Green Living
February 14th, 2009
GreenPods: Small, Lovely Eco-Homes
Stumble it!
If you are interested in green architecture then please spend a moment welcoming GreenPods on to the market. These are wonderful, small, highly eco-smart dwellings.
GreenPod Developmentis based in Washington and they seek to design and construct affordable, sustainable, modular homes. At right you see one of their “SoloPods”, but the also have other designs that are equally compelling. Below you see the model called the “Floating Pod.”
The Pod designs range from 300 to 800 square feet. But if you need additional square footage, the Pods can be joined or stacked. Pod designer Ann Raab uses movable walls, multi-use furnishings, lighting, and windows to visually enlarge the Pod’s living spaces.
The Pods boast many environmentally-savvy features. All Pods utilize passive-solar design principles to cut energy use. Every Pod features low air infiltration design,energy-efficient windows, energy saving appliances, low-flow plumbing and LED lighting. They also make extensive use of daylighting.
The uber-green can go beyond these elements and opt for such additions as greywater recycling, rain water storage, roof gardens or green roofs.
Currently GreenPods is working on projects in Washington and California, and they can also service Oregon. Founder Ann Raab told me that they hope to be able to serve more parts of the country next year. I also asked her about costs and she said that depending on the size and features one selects for the their Pod, the cost would range between $150-$250 per square foot.
In case you are in Washington, you can stop by the GreenPod showroom. It’s at Artisans on Taylor, which is located at 236 Taylor Street, Port Townsend, WA, 98368 (across from the Rose Theater).
Popularity: 15% [?]
Comments
Erika Faulkner
February 18th, 2009 at 10:35 am
These homes are fabulous!! Do you know if GreenPod will have a booth ath the upcoming Phoenix Green Building Conference in AZ??
Please let me know. Thanks!
Rob Johnson
February 18th, 2009 at 8:18 pm
I think these are way cool. From Washington Huh? I will have to look them up!
Maria Harvey-Lavin
February 24th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
Have you any distributor in the UK please? …
Melissa
April 14th, 2009 at 9:41 am
This is an astounding idea. I believe we sincerly need to make changes in how we care for our world, or quite simply there will be nothing left .
Rita Thomas
April 28th, 2009 at 10:01 am
I whaunnnn it! This is super cute!! I am GREEN with envy, these little houses are adorable!!
Nice !
Robert Drake
May 1st, 2009 at 8:24 pm
Absolutely ridiculous. Pre-fab home builders need to stop using the term affordable in describing their product, and generally need to stop using the terms sustainable, or green, or eco-anything. Who are these homes aimed at? At $160 sq. ft. it is beyond the reach of the vast majority of home owners. The average mortgage is $107,000 in the U.S., and that includes the land. The average cost per sq. ft to construct a home on-site is $69 sq. ft. Allowing for cost markups in higher-priced areas, you still wouldn’t pay anywhere near this amount for a house this size constructed on site.
Of course, at $160 sq. ft. you’re not even getting features like rainwater reclamation, radiant floor heating, geothermal cooling, etc, which are pricey extras. Where I live in the Washington D.C. area, one of the most expensive in the country, you could build a home of this size using some easy-to-apply sustainable design features for $30-40K on site, and take it off the grid with an additional 10-15 K in efficiency, and renewable energy features. This is why pre-fab is just another overhyped sector in the green market. Visit the sites of these pre-fab home builders and you notice that many of them don’t even have pictures of actual homes, just computer generated designs, because they’ve not actually built any of these homes, and they won’t either, because the economics make no sense. Until you can get the cost of one of these 500 sq. ft. pre-fabs down to 50K with all the bells and whistles included, it’s never going to bring in the Wal-Mart crowd, and without the Wal-Mart crowd it will never make money, or do much to help the environment. These eco-pre fabs will continue to be the insignificant niche of well-intentioned, but overly affluent home buyers until the architects that masquerade as enviro-friendly stop thinking like they’re building for the McMansion crowd.
Sally
May 27th, 2009 at 6:25 pm
Mr. Drake you are right on the money. When are entrepreneurs in this country going to cease to think that “the money is going to come from somewhere?” But, hopefully this is the beginning of a reality for middle (plus or minus) income folks. There must be some enterprising people who can build these homes for a smaller profit. American entrepreneurs are so spoiled that they feel they must make a killing on every ounce of effort they make. I am sooo tired of all the hype about every new product and how some feel they must squeeze the last dollar out of their customers.
geoff fulton
July 14th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
Thought you might be interested in looking at the SMALLisSMART HOUSE. It’s based on a 40 foot shipping container. Was applauded at the recent DESIGNEX 2009,Australia’s premier design expo. The architect creators will provide an IKEA type construction manual and full set of drawings so that a couple of teenagers can build the house for less than $30,000. Have a look at it on http://www.fultonsalomon.com. The architects are now designing custom houses based on the SMALLisSMART HOUSE. One house and arts centre has been built using 12 containers. Another is planned for Orlando Florida using 29 containers. The architects are keen to appoint a distributor in the USA and Canada. E: thearchitect@internode.on.net
Vegan Betty
July 24th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
I agree completely with Sally and Robert. I just love it when a 4, 000 sf house that cost $800,000 is considered ‘green’. Disgusting. Have we learned nothing? Excess and gluttony is what is destroying our planet. We need solutions that are accessible to everyone. In that vein, I found this prefab kit that is only exterior w/ no interior included, but is a reasonable $35K. I want to pick my interior finishes anyway and haven’t been impressed with the ones that come standard w/ most prefabs. Here’s the site: http://www.greenmodernkits.com/ We are just biding our time until we can find a decent sized, affordable piece of land and then this is the one for us!
Jordan
February 12th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
Well, this thread has been dead for awhile, but this is my first visit to this site, so I thought why not?
Having been involved in the modular/ “preFab” industry for over 35 years I feel qualified to toss in my “two cents worth” on the subject at hand.
First of all, in my estimation, the companies that are producing the homes that are featured in this thread, as well as others on other threads on this blog site, are very nicely done. As far as their pricing and value, as always the marketplace will tell the tale. As far as “greenness” is concerned, I don’t think that its ever very easy to get a consensus on that topic. In my mind energy efficiency is the number one priority, then sustainable materials, carbon footprints, etc etc all come into play. There have been many studies published on this topic but almost all of the “experts” agree that if all new buildings would be designed and constructed to use from 50% to 100 % less energy, many of our environmental concerns would be eliminated.
So, I think that if someone wants, and can afford, to build an 8,000 sf house we’re all better off if they build it to the highest energy efficient standards possible. Then it would be nice if they used sustainable materials, and planned so they don’t generate so much construction waste, etc etc
(Who knows, maybe they really started out thinking about a 16,000 sf house)
In any event, I did notice that several contributors to this thread took the opportunity to introduce their related products and services.
Our firm does not offer complete “Kits” or modulars. We do offer “Building Envelope Packages” for custom designs, as well as for some pre designed plans. Our primary building system: SIPs (Structural Insulated Panels) with basic building packages starting at under $ 10,000 for a 24′ x24′ “modern studio” design. I don’t want to miss lead anyone here, this is a bare bones, ready to assemble, wall and roof building package. For anyone who is interested in finding out more about our firm’s products and services go to
http://www.gbsic.com for contact information.
Kathy
May 3rd, 2010 at 2:19 pm
I hope the cost comes down! It would be nice if more people could afford this kind of option.
But I think it is the same with cars, right?
The Walmart crowd isn’t going there anytime soon. Too bad…
Simon Hinton
July 25th, 2010 at 12:46 pm
Hi people,
First I think the eco pods look fantastic. We build Eco homes in Hastings in the UK so I thought I would respond to some of the comments mentioned from a developer’s perspective.
We have done our best to make our houses ‘affordable’ at £375,000 about $600,000 each. It’s a lot of money to some and a real bargain to others because costs are relative to a personal situation. The costs of making a home eco-friendly are falling and will continue to the more people choose to purchase sustainable homes, and the more people like ourselves and Green Pod Developers produce the eco homes. Like any innovation it comes in early at a higher price. When ‘economies of scale’ work their effect costs come down. Think cellphone, computers and anything that starts off with lots of R and D and a small market. So rather than knock these guys congratulate them for leading the way in sustainable building. Costs are falling constantly eg solar panels and heat pumps and new laws are being implemented each year that creates new sustainable codes. This comes at a price, worth paying in my opinion, and the more affluent amongst are will pay first. Please visit http://www.phoenixtrinity.co.uk to see our carbon reductive/carbon neutral development of eco homes.
Steve Bryan
November 10th, 2010 at 11:06 am
Robert Drake is another short-sided sour grapes type of fellow that’s concerned about a new idea eating into his profits. He’s the horse breeder that says these horseless carriages have no future and they’re loud and dangerous as well! Anyone knows that developing a market requires the McMansion crowd to get on board first, then costs go down and the WalMart crowd follows. How much did Robert pay for his personal computer today versus ten years ago?
Plumber Plano Tx
January 13th, 2011 at 11:17 am
There is no question that Green building practices are more expensive. It’s a reality. But this is the essence of the green movement. A change in mindset toward more sustainable building practices, and energy conservation.
Some of our conventional construction practices were built around a short term mentality that often ignored the environment, the natural landscapes and natural resources.
Which is ultimately more costly? Or are we still thinking short term? If so, maybe you should go buy an existing home.
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