Archive for the ‘Green Prefab & Modular Homes’ Category
September 22nd, 2008
Green Prefab From Across the Pond
Stumble it!
I happened to live in France back in 2002, and during my year there I noticed a pretty significant gap between sustainability as practiced in Europe in the US. In Europe, I was working with large public companies who were already integrating the implications of global warming and sustainbility into their businesses. In the US (and sadly still today), many companies were still arguing whether global warming even existed!
This difference was also evident in houshold products - from luxury hotels in Italy fully outfitted with CFLs to low-flow water fixtures and dual-flush toilets in many homes to small upright washers in even the most basic apartments, the kinds of products associated with our burgeoning US green movement today were already the norm in many parts of Europe back then.
On a recent trip overseas I happened to pick up a French architecture magazine for the flight home. I was pleasantly surprised to see that we had really caught up in the past six years - outside of being written in French, you would have been hard-pressed to distinguish this magazine from any of the leading US architecture magazines.
One article caught my eye, though, for it did point out a slight difference that needs to move across the pond. It was on a beautiful and practical prefab home, called the EvolutiV house by Olgga Architectes of Paris. The house itself is striking, made from two rectangular prefrabicated sections that can be rearranged to develop different floorplans and having exterior walls made from sections of wooden logs. The homes also come with the latest and greatest in eco-design: natural ventilation, rainwater collection, solar panels (both PV and thermal), green roof, radiant heating with an option for geothermal heating/cooling, and the typical eco-friendly materials throughout.
The most interesting piece of the story, though, is that the literature for the house and the articles written about it all refer to the home’s target energy usage: less than 48 kWh / m2 / year, which translates to about 4.4 kWh / ft2 / year. This is 70% less energy usage than the typical US home in similar climates.
It’s not the level of performance that makes this interesting, for many prefab options in the US can do as well. It’s that the media in France AND the architecture firm who designed the house feel compelled to advertise efficiency in terms of a single number that is easy to understand and can be used to compare this home to others one might choose. I’ve rarely if ever seen that in discussion of US prefab options (or other green homes) - outside of a LEED rating, we’re often left to guess exactly how eco-friendly that home is. We’d love to see this become more widespread in the US - information is power, and simple, objective numbers like this can help us separate the truly eco-friendly from innovative designs that are green in name (or advertising) only.
To see more photos of the Evolutiv house, click here to view the balance of this posting. (FYI, the EvolutiV house is about 800 square feet and is available in France for about $150,000.)
And click here to find great green prefab homes available in the US.
Popularity: 3% [?]
August 26th, 2008
Green Weefab Mini-Homes
In case you can’t tell, we like green prefab homes. Many are beautiful and innovative, and the best of them really push the boundaries of green practices. But for most of us they’re aspirational rather than practical. Most of us aren’t building green homes from scratch, and even if we are the number of green prefab providers who can deliver cost-effective complete green prefab homes is still quite small.
Which is why we decided to write about small green prefab rooms or homes - weefabs - so small that you actually might be able to put one in your backyard. They could serve as a “room-away-from-home” place for the inlaws, a quiet office or TV room out back, or simply a comforting, tranquil place to just hang out and relax. While not affordable compared to pre-made sheds at Home Depot, you can still secure most of these models without having to take out a new mortgage. Which is good, because at least right now most mortages harder to come by than a protest license in Beijing!
We’ve always liked Modern Shed - whether you live in a Mid-Century Modern home or a traditional Cape Cod style in New England, Modern Shed makes a model that will fit in with your design. They have many green features, and you can get several models for less than $10K. Shipping is included in the price, and they’re designed and shipped so that a relatively handy D-I-Y-er can do the install.
Shipping containers are all the rage in prefab (check out this hotel made out of them - pretty cool!), and they’re about the right size, but do you really want one in your backyard? If it’s designed by pieceHomes you do! The Container House is actually a small home with a kitchen and bathroom, but it only takes up 320 square feet (it is the same dimensions as a shipping container making it easy to transport, but it’s not actually made from one). It also comes with a covered deck and lock-down shutters, so you can just close it up when you’re not using it or when that next hurricane approaches. They’re a bit more expensive than a one-room weefab, but wouldn’t you pay a bit more to avoid running into Aunt Edna using the bathroom at 6AM in the morning?
kitHAUS also makes some pretty interesting small structures, specifically the K3 (117 ft2) shown above and the K4 (187 ft2) units. The K3 falls below the 120 square foot threshold of most building codes, so it qualifies as an “accessory” structure and doesn’t require a building permit (this can vary by location, though, so check with your local building department). The K3 also doesn’t need a foundation and can be outfitted with solar panels, making it the perfect option for your own off-grid eco-escape.
If you’re looking for something a little less permanent, consider an Ecoshack Nomad yurt. While many folks associate yurts with a taste for yak butter or Grateful Dead singalongs, these aren’t your traditional yurts. They provide 160 square feet of living (or relaxing) space, they’re made from eco-friendly materials such as bamboo, and they employ some high-tech fabrics to ensure durability and water repellancy. They’re also relatively easy to install, move or store.
With the LifePort system from Envision Solar, you get a DIY carport structure that comes with integrated solar PV panels. As with most solar PV projects, these aren’t cheap, but you get two benefits for the price of 1.5: solar electricity for your home, and either a new carport or shade structure for a covered deck in your back yard. You’ll have to hire an electrician to connect this system to the grid, but aside from that you can do it yourself.
Last, a bit of weefab eye candy. Check out these amazing rolling huts from the architecture firm Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects (brought to our attention by Olivia Chen at Inhabitat.com). These were designed for a custom home project, but it’s not too hard to imagine a herd of rolling green weefab huts dotting a landscape near you. You might not be able to tow these behind your biodiesel pickup, but at least you can tow it farther into your backyard if Uncle Otis’ snoring wakes you up on the first day of his two-week visit!
Visit our prefab directory for more prefab options, or this previous post on why prefab homes can be such great examples of green building.
Popularity: 7% [?]
July 2nd, 2008
Green House Plans from FreeGreen
Think you can’t afford an architect to design your green dream home? Wrong-ola. Now you can get free green home plans from FreeGreen.
FreeGreen’s mission is clear and simple: ”At FreeGreen we hope to encourage progressive building practices by making green home designs free for everyone.” The company is able to provide these free designs because they make money from companies looking to promote their green home materials/products (e.g., flooring from FLOR, tankless water heaters from Rinnai, GE Energy Star appliances, etc.) To learn more about FreeGreen’s history and business model, click here.
This is really an amazing service– you just go to the site, find the home design you want, and download the plans. It is amazingly easy. The site is quite new and has some little bugs, but you can still really do a lot with it. (For instance to download you need to click on the “virtual tour” link for the house you want.) In addition to downloading the drawing set for your builder, you can download the energy performance data for the home you have selected. You can also get a Spec Book of the building products and finishes that can be installed in your home.
They have three house plans they are featuring now and they will be adding more as time goes on. The one pictured at right above is the “Suburban Loft,” which can be 1,200 to 2,600 square feet. I’m personally partial to the Smart Box, pictured at left. It can be 1,000 to 2,200 square feet. They also offer a more traditional looking “Healthy Family” home which can be 1,800 to 3,000 feet. And you can customize any of these designs to your geographic location and sizing desires. Check out all of the plans here.
Related features:
Green Prefab Homes: Prefabulous!
Find companies designing and building prefab homes here
If you’re looking for a builder in your area, don’t forget to check our nationwide directory of green builders here.
Popularity: 4% [?]
July 1st, 2008
Green Prefab Coming to a Market Near You!
If you can’t tell, we’re pretty hooked on the latest and greatest in green prefab design. One big problem, though, is that there’s a huge amount of noise and not all that much action - plenty of fabulous prefab designs and museum / conference exhibits, but very few actual installations (and even fewer mid-market installs, which is where prefab has to go in order to make a true difference in our housing stock).
Finally, the log jam seems to be breaking. Several firms have begun to produce green prefab homes for real people in small but growing numbers. This past month, Marmol Radziner, a prefab company here in Southern California, made a splash with some pretty showy installation videos on local media outlets. These homes are either a) high end or b) for the firm’s founders, so they’re still a ways away from mass-market. But, the videos do a good job of showing what elements make prefab homes unique (factory construction, rapid installation, modular components) and at least to me suggest that they’re not all that far away from being able to replicate these installations on a larger and thus less expensive scale.
So, take a few minutes out of work and check out this great video from the LA Times on the installation of one of the homes. And continue to hope for the day when all you have to do is walk down the street instead of visit the local museum to see a beautiful green prefab home near you. (our apologies for whatever ad the LA Times is running in front of this clip - when I last viewed it it was a Chevy Pickup ad - ugggggg). To see more great green prefab options, visit our green prefab directory here.
Popularity: 4% [?]
June 12th, 2008
Green Prefab: Everyone’s Going Modular
It seems everyone is “going modular” these days with the rapid growth in the movement of green prefab design and construction. The buzz in modular construction is causing a rush of new designs, innovative products, and advanced modular systems being introduced. The goal of prefab is still the same as minimizing waste while maximizing efficiency. To learn more about prefab design and what makes it a compelling form of green building, please click here.
No longer are the days when just calling yourself a prefab company is considered environmentally progressive. Homes are now being made from materials like reused shipping containers, recycled steel, and certified sustainably-harvested wood. The new challenge for prefab companies is balancing the economics of innovative sustainable design with the realities of construction and raw material costs.
We want to highlight some companies doing some very interesting work in the prefab space.
Eco-Steel Homes focuses on streamlined design and their homes use 76% recycled steel sourced from recycled vehicles, appliances and industrial scrap metal. They encourage us all to “start dreaming in steel.” Their models use no wood, making them mold and insect resistant, and come pre-engineered and pre-insulated making them ultra-efficient. You can combine different modules to create your dream (metal) home.
In sharp contrast to these visions of ultra-modern prefab, look at these warm, rustic homes from International Homes of Cedar. Their homes carry an impressive insulative value using interlocking layers of construction lumber from sustained yield second growth forests. Cedar is an extremely durable wood and one of the best choices for construction due to its moisture resistance, pest resistance, and thermal resistance.
Prefab structures don’t always have to be an entire home. With gas prices soaring, why drive to the office when you can set up a modern working space right in your backyard? Start small and own a prefab home office or even a prefab garage. Modern Shed designs are colorful, fun, and utilize green materials in both the interior and exterior finishes and options for their prefab structures. For example you can choose insulation made from recycled denim, cork flooring, recycled decking and more. Modules start as small as 8’ x 10’ sheds for under $5,000 and go up to 1,200sf dwellings. The sheds are ideal for home office space, artist’s gallery, machinery work space, or even a child’s playhouse.
Envision Solar sees the garage as an opportunity to have not only a prefab structure, but having it powered by energy from the sun! The Lifeport garage (23’ x 23’) or its smaller counterpart the LifePod solar structure (10’ x 12’) allow homeowners to own cost-effective and attractive shade structures to protect their cars or serve as a pool house that will pay for itself over time. The entire roof structure is covered in solar panels and will not only power your garage, charge your vehicles, and can also contribute to offsetting the electricity use for your house. The modules are easy to construct and actually give back to the environment rather than taking away.
Lastly, maybe you just can’t get to the gym but would rather have a workout room like the Nomad Yurt by EcoShack? This yurt can be used as an outdoor luxurious portable room for yoga class or as an office. Kids would love it as a play-space as well. Think “outside the house” and maybe you will come up with a use of your own.
Click here to see still more examples of top-notch companies doing work in the green prefab sector.
We hope you have enjoyed our modular outburst of new ideas. Personally I am still waiting for someone to come up with a Biomimicry-inspired prefab structure. Until that happens, we can all feel good about the progress that prefab is making and will look forward to new innovations and technologies.
Popularity: 7% [?]
