My Thoughts on Greg La Vardera's "Our Re-Modern Movement - The Tipping Point?"

I got really fired up this morning after I read a great post in architect Greg La Vardera's blog. In "Our Remodern Movement - the tipping point?" Greg suggests that now might finally be the time for modernist homes to find a place in the mainstream. I really hope so. I see the momentum. And I believe in "tipping points." I know exactly what the tipping point was for me personally, the one thing that got me really excited about modern homes. I picked up a copy of Dwell at the newsstand for the first time, the April/May 2005 issue with Charlie Lazor's Flatpak house on the cover.

I had always been interested in homes. I always dreamed of something better and more exciting than the standard fare of suburban cul-de-sacs, though I wasn't totally hooked on modern yet. But when I saw this cover, with a real family in a cool-ass house, it was like a lightning bolt. I can't tell you how badly I'd like to live in a Flatpak. It's one of the top three contenders for me. It just fits me and my family so perfectly. When the time finally comes to really build a new home I will be giving them a call to talk.

It's funny though, how "weird" most people think modernist homes are. My mother said "you want to live in a white box?" with a look on her face that was pure disbelief. Talking houses with some neighbors I could detect their nervous smiles when I mentioned concrete and steel, as in "uh, okay, sure, as long as it's not next door to my house." And look at the real estate markets. That's all you need to know. You don't see a lot of developers building modernist spec homes. Just pick up a real estate magazine and thumb through it for a minute. How many cool modernist homes will you find in the listings. Maybe one or two in a hundred page book. And they're mostly really big, expensive houses, probably built in the eighties after watching too many episodes of Miami Vice. Good, simple, modern homes for real families are hard to come by. Your best bet is a fifties ranch. Even those are a minority in the market compared to the grand total of everything else.

But I think Greg is right. This is the right time. Dwell has been so successful that some other similar publications have started to appear. Blogs like mine are popping up like daisies. Sarah Susanka's "Not So Big House" movement has a lot of followers (because it makes a lot of sense). Or consider John Brown's Slow Home Movement. And green is suddenly king. People finally realize that their choices have a real impact. Now is definitely the time of Less is More, and modernism fits that bill perfectly.

Probably the biggest helper in all of this, in my opinion, is going to be the bursting of the real estate bubble. I say that for one simple reason: it will make people change their view as to what their home really is - a home to live in and not an investment to make a fortune off of. I really believe that people won't/can't build what they really want because they are too hung up on resale value and growing massive equity. I don't know if this attitude caused the housing bubble or vice versa, but either way they combine to create an effect where the resultant high cost of housing distorts our views, closes our minds to new ideas, prices lots of people out of the market for a good home, and places too much power in the hands of developers, not in the hands of consumers where it should be. And so, here we are. With the bubble busting and home prices correcting I think we may also see home buyers making very different decisions about what they want to live in. I know this is the case for my wife and I, and I hope, at least, that this is the case for others.

It's definitely time for America to focus its attention on things like better homes, greener communities, reliable energy, even better communications technology, education and health care. These are the things that make up the infrastructure of this country. We won't have to worry about foreign threats for long if we allow ourselves to fall apart from the inside.

This whole country is at a tipping point, or near one. Modern homes are just a tiny, tiny part of that. We can choose a better way to live without giving up all the really great things we already enjoy.

Better living through design. Work smarter, not harder. Find the holistic solutions.

We can do it.

Rural Studio Still Going Strong - and Blogging!!!

The first straw bale house I ever saw was the (now very famous) Hay Bale (Bryant) House by Rural Studio, Samuel Mockbee's groundbreaking do/learn program at the Auburn University School of Architecture. I was hooked!




I've been a fan of Rural Studio ever since. Sadly, Mockbee passed away a few years ago, but Rural Studio is still going strong. Did you know they've got some blogs going to chronicle their amazing work? Yep, they do! Five of them, in fact.

The blogs give you a great peek at all the hard work that goes into making their projects happen. Since I focus on residential work, my favorite is naturally the Outreach Project $20k House Phase III blog. As the name implies, this is the third in a series of projects aimed at very low cost homes, in Rural Studio's great tradition of building for low income families. Here's some pics I've sampled from the blog's year of posts, to give you a feel for what they're building.






The other blogs are great too. They cover community projects, which is another area that Rural Studio has made amazing contributions to.

I know Rural Studio is very well known, and that I'm not breaking any ground talking about it here. But I wanted to remind everyone that the program is still going strong, and that you can get an up close and personal look inside Rural Studio projects on their great blogs. Go visit them, and leave them a comment, just to show your support.

Slow Home Wants to Empower You to "Take Control of Your Home and Community"

You've heard of slow food, and maybe slow cities. Now this great post on WorldChanging is introducing us to a great site called Slow Home. The slow home concept is introduced as a counter to mass produced housing, which it likens to unhealthy and unsatisfying fast food. It presents a lot of great ideas about what's wrong with American housing, and offers a different way.

The meat of the site is a rich folio of projects, products and people that exemplify slow home concepts. There are tons of pics of great houses. I'm like a kid in a candy store clicking through them. There's even a "Slow Home TV" section with lots of cool videos. There are interviews with architects and product designers, videos of their houses, and many episodes of the "Slow Home Reports."

The site is interesting and informative. It's an instant favorite for me. I've only been able to get through a small fraction of it - there's a lot of material - but I just couldn't wait to bring it to your attention. You'll want to read the WorldChanging post, and visit the site yourself, but let me leave you with one more thing from Slow Home, the best part of all - the Slow Home "10 Steps:"

1. GO INDEPENDENT

Avoid homes by big developers and large production builders. They are designed for profit not people. Work with independent designers and building contractors instead.

2. GO LOCAL

Avoid home finishing products from big box retailers. The standardized solutions they provide cannot fit the unique conditions of your home. Use local retailers, craftspeople, and manufacturers to get a locally appropriate response and support your community.

3. GO GREEN

Stop the conversion of nature into sprawl. Don’t buy in a new suburb. The environmental cost can no longer be justified. Re-invest in existing communities and use sustainable materials and technologies to reduce your environmental footprint.

4. GO NEAR

Reduce your commute. Driving is a waste of time and the new roads and services required to support low density development is a big contributor to climate change. Live close to where you work and play.

5. GO SMALL

Avoid the real estate game of bigger is always better. A properly designed smaller home can feel larger AND work better than a poorly designed big one. Spend your money on quality instead of quantity.

6. GO OPEN

Stop living in houses filled with little rooms. They are dark, inefficient, and don’t fit the complexity of our daily lives. Live in a flexible and adaptive open plan living space with great light and a connection to outdoors.

7. GO SIMPLE

Don’t buy a home that has space you won’t use and things you don’t need. Good design can reduce the clutter and confusion in your life. Create a home that fits the way you really want to live.

8. GO MODERN

Avoid fake materials and the re-creation of false historical styles. They are like advertising images and have little real depth. Create a home in which character comes from the quality of space, natural light and the careful use of good, sustainable materials.

9. GO HEALTHY

Avoid living in a public health concern. Houses built with cheap materials off gas noxious chemicals. Suburbs promote obesity because driving is the only option. Use natural, healthy home materials and building techniques. Live where you can walk to shop, school and work.

10. GO FOR IT

Stop procrastinating. The most important, and difficult, step in the slow home process is the first one that you take. Get informed and then get involved with your home. Every change, no matter how small, is important.

I like those a lot. Not a bad manifesto. Slow Home is a site you won't want to miss. Check it out.

Architects Perrine and Maynard Tell it Like it Is - Respond with Cool Prefab Solutions

Over the past couple of days my Google Reader has been buzzing with good posts on cool modern prefabs. Here's a couple that I really liked:

The Perrinepod,via Equity Green. This statement from the Perrinepod site nails it:

"My design is about appreciating the beauty of simple, uncluttered space." The perrinepod is very functional, very sexy, very simple, with the form of the spaces inside following the function, there's no pretense, just simple, beautiful designs. It's a really cool thing to have no falseness - for example, the bathrooms are simply designed as a place to wash, backed up by quality materials.

Living spaces have become as transient and irrelevant as clothes. It's no longer a look for a generation, the look of 'now' only lasts for a three to four year period.

That approach is not sustainable and people are putting themselves under a lot of unnecessary pressure trying to keep up. The Perrine Pod is the antithesis of all of that - simple design, beautiful materials that will remain classic. It's not a 'look at me' statement, but a home that is comfortable, stylish and above all, functional." - Jean-mic Perrine

And, the Quon Modular, via Materialicio.us and via your abode .... environmentality. The Quon is the work of Australia's Andrew Mayndard. This guy's stuff just blows my mind. Every time I look at his site I get a boost. He has some of the funkiest designs. Maynard's firm is hot as the sun right now.

The Quon's manifesto, described in this quote from Maynard's site:

"We believe that the housing industry is in the dark ages, and as such are offering Quon as a premium modular housing product rather than a traditional hand built house. Delivery within 10 weeks of order, infinite arrangements based on our modular system and a procurement process more like purchasing a car than a home. It is our belief that more and more people are interested in fast, efficient and affordable living, and we intend on becoming the industry leader in Housing. Let the revolution begin."

Give me the party flag and tell me where the front lines are - I'm in, Comrade Maynard. Several are being built now - from off the grid in the boonies, to a rooftop of a seven story building in a densely populated urban jungle.





Perrine and Maynard are telling it like it is, and they're responding with some slick solutions.

The future of housing really is NOW.

Image credits - Perrinepod and Quon sites

See More of Uni's Inspiring Designs

If you read dwell on a regular basis you've no doubt seen the work of husband and wife architects Beat Schenk and Chaewon Kim. The couple, and their unique homes in Cambridge, have been featured twice in the modernist mag. The first house was a great remodel, and then they built three more on their site. But have you also seen the website for the couple's practice, Uni, or Uni's blog, or have you watched them on HGTV's fun show What's With That House (episode HWTH-309)? You can see tons more of Uni's four great houses at these resources. The Uni main site also has lots of links to other places where their work is featured, and more great images there too.

Here's a couple of pics from their blog that I like:








I admire Uni's minimalist style and their DIY attitude. They do great things with simple materials, and they show that high style can be had on a budget. Here's something to watch for - on their main site they show the four houses they've already built, and it looks like two more are coming! No pics yet, but the site shows an "XL," and a "+" which I can't wait to see!

There's also an "H" shown on the site, which Uni designed as their entry to a competition for a wilderness base camp (the Palisades Glacier Mountain Hut Competition). A very cool design for a cool contest. The "H" is based on modules of standard ISO sea containers clad in transparent materials, stacked like building blocks, and powered by the sun. How cool. Here's their entry board:




Good stuff. Definitely a team to keep watching.

Image credits - Uni's Blog, Uni main site

Inspiration from Detroit's Past - Frank Lloyd Wright's Cooperative Homesteads Project

Okay. Confession time. No, I am not from California, or Oregon, or New York City. I'm not a trendy design professional, I'm not an architect, I don't come from a family of builders. Guess what I do for a living. C'mon - guess! Here it is: I'm an autoworker, and I live in Detroit.

Now, Detroit is not the pit that most people from other parts of the country think it is. The city has had a lot of rough times, true, but actually it's an alright place to live (I really appreciated this article in Dwell about Detroit). The weather is really nice here too. Kind of wet, with cold winters, but we really don't get too much snow and summertime is a dream. Spring and fall are both lovely. Actually, I grew up close to Ann Arbor, which is pretty groovy. It's where all the hippies go to engineering school, at U of M, although I went to Purdue, but anyway.

So yeah, I'm an autoworker. I don't work "on the line" or anything, but I am in the biz. My company makes car parts (darn good ones too!). And I live in the burbs of Detroit. And even though I've forever dreamed of moving to California I will always have a soft spot for my hometown.

And that's one reason I've always been fascinated by a certain Frank Lloyd Wright project from the late thirties / early forties, planned for Detroit, but never built. It's the Cooperative Homesteads Project. Wright and his team from Taliesin designed it for a coop formed of auto workers and teachers - idealists, consistent with the times (unions, socialism, progressives, artists, etc.). It was intended to offer quality but low cost housing these people could afford, in a planned community where they could return home from their factory jobs and then tend their shared gardens in Detroit's long summer evenings, growing much of their own food.




The project, was an experiment that was way ahead of its time. Not so much the community planning aspect, which is so of the era it is kind of cliche, but rather in its construction and aesthetic.

First of all, the homes were going to have rammed earth walls. That's right, rammed earth walls. Wright was experimenting with it at the time, and was going to use it in the project as a low cost wall system the future homeowners could erect themselves. Second, Wright employed earth berming to help further protect the walls, provide extra insulation, and block cold winter winds. A broad roof was planned to further shelter the earthen walls from Detroit's damp weather, and keep out summer sun.

Inside, the house had small bedrooms, one large main living space, built-in furniture, and a great hearth. Natural light came in from windows on both sides, and there was a bank of nice big floor-to-ceiling windows in the main living area. There was an attached shed/cellar for storing tools and vegetables from the garden. The homes look extremely livable, despite their compact size.





Ultimately, World War II intervened, and the project was abandoned. A few units were actually started, but never finished (apparently the yet unprotected walls literally washed away from exposure). It is sad, because for a small worker's home the design was truly modern and beautiful. A simple, modest home, but really sleek. I've always thought it was one of the coolest designs Wright had done. It appeals to my populist streak, but with high style.

In his wonderful book, The Natural House, Wright mentions the project, and commented that "the nature of the scheme is apropos to so much of the building problem in our country that it is on record here for what it may be worth." Sadly, I think not much has changed, and so I present the project here as an interesting example of elegant, thoughtful, paradigm challenging, affordable housing concept that should continue to inspire us.

I think the project is also discussed in the great book on Wright's Usonian Houses written by John Sergeant.

You can read a nice writeup on the project at the website of Aaron G. Green Associates Inc. Mr. Green was a student of Wright and worked on the project. Click here to jump straight to the Cooperative Homesteads page.

Image credits - Aaron G. Green Associates, Inc. site

Soliant Energy's Heliotube PV Panels - Solar Power at Half the Cost

Green energy is finally starting to hit the mainstream. We're literally on the cusp of a revolution in technology that will bring affordable, clean power to the masses. Case in point, Soliant Energy, Inc. has introduced a roof mounted solar panel called the Heliotube that tracks the sun throughout the day and concentrates light onto a small area, reducing the number of photovoltaic cells needed to generate electricity. In fact, Heliotube panels use 88 percent less silicon than regular PV panels. Silicon is the expensive material that keeps the cost of PV high, and more costly than grid power. So here's the best part: because the Heliotube is very efficient, and thus uses far less silicon, it costs only about half as much as a regular PV panel that produces the same power.

The result is solar power at about half the cost of traditional PV panels - a cost that makes it very competitive with grid power. Folks, this is not a pipedream. The Heliotube panels are set to begin production and start shipping to customers this year. Pretty exciting, isn't it!






Read a great article on the panels here: Technology Review.

Via World Changing

Image credits - Soliant Energy site

Living Large in the Compact 9tubohouse

It's so great when old ideas, once forgotten, are rediscovered and flourishing today. That's the case with the lovable Japanese 9tubohouse. Originally designed in in 1952 by Makoto Masuzawa as an "absolute minimum" house anyone could afford, the 9tubo has been revived of late by Makoto Koizumi and others, who are working to bring this compact darling to homeowners in Japan today.




The 9tubohouse is based on the traditional Japanese unit of measurement in building, the tubo. One tsubo is a square composed of two tatami mats arranged side by side. At nine tsubos (naturally) the plan is only 538 square feet inside. It's a small, but highly livable design, with its wall of windows, a compact but efficient kitchen, a tatami room, and a spacious loft. It's a very efficient design that lives a lot larger than its tiny footprint. The houses are easy to build too, utilizing simple and traditional post and beam construction.

I love the way the houses are finished. Very natural and modern. Here are pics of a few different 9tubohouses:




Most of the pics above are of the second 9tubohouse (the dark one - the first 9tubohouse is the very first pic at the top of the post). As you can see, there are lots of variations on the basic theme too - taller ones, wider ones, etc. - some of which I've shown. I really like the exterior treatment of the bottom one, and the matching detached studio.

Of course, the 9tubohouse site is all in Japanese, and so it's hard for me to navigate. But click around, there are lots of great images including many of people visiting 9tubohouses during an open house showing. There is an English page, but it is still being developed.

You can read about the 9tubohouse in the great book, Space: Japanese Design Solutions for Compact Living. It's one of my very favorite books, and it gives the 9tubohouse generous treatment, with over twenty pages on it and tons of very good pictures. The 9tubohouse is on the cover, which is appropriate, as it perfectly embodies the concept of the book.




By the way, is it "tubo" or "tsubo." I always see it written tsubo, like in the book Space, but I'm going with tubo since that is how the web address is written.

The Japanese concept of turning limitations into strengths is really at work here. The 9tubohouse works well, even for families, despite its tiny size. Everything you need is there, and nothing is wasted. Though small, it is bright and airy and never feels cramped. And it has so much personality, which is what every house should have. Beautiful!

Image credits - 9tubohouse site, Amazon.com listing

Learn How Your Household Consumes Resources - and What to Do About It - at LowImpactLiving.com

If you want to learn more about your household energy consumption, and how to reduce it, look no further than Low Impact Living.




This great site has an "impact calculator" that can give you general reports on how much energy your household consumes (your home plus transportation) and offers green projects to reduce consumption, room by room. Here's one report on a typical American home:






The listings of potential improvement projects that accompany these reports show you how much money it will cost, how much savings it generates in terms of both dollars and environmental impact (energy, water, waste, CO2), as well as how long the payback period is. Links take you to product listings to help with the project, or let you search for contractors in your area to help you out. In fact, Low Impact Living has an extensive Products and Services page to help you make your green project a success. Low Impact Living shows you real ways to save energy and money, and tells you how to get it done.

There are also great pages that help you learn more about your impacts - both the resources you consume and the resulting wastes you generate. There are also guides to green alternatives like solar and wind power, hybrid cars, carbon offsets and green insulation. Overall I'm finding it extremely informative.

The Low Impact Living site is very well done, easy to navigate, and absolutely loaded with useful information. It's probably the most practical green resource for your home that I've come across yet. It's a straightforward guide to how households consume resources, what happens when they do, and what to do about it. Give it a click!

Image credits - Low Impact Living site

Great Book: Redux - Designs That Reuse, Recycle and Reveal

A key element of green building is reuse or recycling of materials that are already converted. Salvaging materials otherwise destined for the dump can help you save money and reduce the total embodied energy of your home. And it's usually a very opportunistic sort of thing, which ultimately gives each project its own unique character.

That's exactly the point of a fantastic book by Jennifer Roberts: Redux - Designs That Reuse, Recycle and Reveal. I like that a lot, but it's the "reveal" part that I like best. The book gives readers one example after another of eco-hip homes bursting with personality as well as environmentally friendly design and construction.


Redux's three main sections cover Renovation, Adaptation and New Construction. For every project featured there is a specific rundown of what reclaimed materials were employed, a "reuse recap," as well as a list of other green features. Scattered throughout Redux's 160 pages you'll also find little sidebars called the "Inside Scoop" which include real gems of wisdom including, among others, "tips for buying salvaged wood," "old stuff to be wary of," and "tax deduction for deconstruction." The many, many color pictures throughout the book are guaranteed to inspire.

Two firms that feature prominently in the book are Leger Wanaselja Architecture and Arkin/Tilt Architects. Both are masters of green design and make substantial use of reclaimed materials in the homes they do. In fact, I think it's safe to say they've taken it to a high art form, and the result is distinct styles that cannot be mistaken for the work of anyone else.

Here's just a couple examples of the works of each that are featured in the book:

The Dwight Way project in Berkeley by Leger Wanaselja is a remodel/addition urban infill project that features nine housing units. Besides adapting a rundown site on a brownfield property, the architects used old car parts, old street signs, salvaged wood and high recycled content in countertops, insulation, and concrete. Some of that reuse is subtle, but some of it is right in front of you. Not subtle, but not in your face. It looks great. All I can say is that this is one of the coolest places I've ever seen and that I'd move in there in a heartbeat just from seeing the pictures.




Arkin/Tilt's D'Souza / De La Torre Residence is a new construction suburban family residence. You simply cannot look anywhere in this house without spotting recycled materials, though everything looks completely appropriate and tasteful. Wall and bookshelf framing is reclaimed wood. Trusses are from salvaged beams. Old vinegar barrels were deployed as ceiling decking. The garage doors were taken from an old elementary school. The roof shingles are made of recycled tire rubber. Kitchen counters are made from recycled glass. The house also uses solar electricity from grid-intertied PV panels, a most excellent geothermal system, and a unique staircase / cooling tower for natural ventilation. It's also modestly sized at 1823 square feet. Perfect! This is what suburban homes should all be like!




Other great homes featured in the book include OMD's amazing Seatrain House, Locus Architecture's groovy nowhaus 01, and many more.

Redux is a fabulous book. It's definitely in my top three favorites and I simply cannot recommend it highly enough. Pick up a copy. You will not be disappointed.

Image Credits - Amazon.com listing, Leger Wanaselja site, Arkin/Tilt Site

Interesting Book - Little House on a Small Planet

Here's a book that's right up my alley - Little House on a Small Planet by Shay Salomon/photography by Nigel Valdez. Sounds great! If you've been reading Future House Now you know my penchant for smaller homes that live large through smart design, and that you can really afford. That's just what this book promises - "Discover how to build, remodel, redecorate, or profoundly rethink your needs," and "Improve your life by scaling back, painlessly, joyfully, and deliciously." It looks really good, and I'll be picking up a copy. I'll let you know how it is after I read it.

Little House on a Small Planet

Tezuka Architects' Engawa House in Latest Issue of Dwell

The latest issue of Dwell finally showed up in my mailbox yesterday. It was two weeks late compared to normal, and to be honest, I was starting to freak out a little bit. But my patience was rewarded! It's a good issue that focuses on spectacular small homes. And in particular, it features yet another splendid Japanese modern home, the Engawa House in Tokyo by Tezuka Architects. Oh joy!




I must say, I love this house. I really do. At only 802 square feet, the Engawa House lives very large. Its long sliding glass wall along one entire side draws little or no distinction between the home's interior and its pleasant little garden. The clean, uncluttered design of compact and efficient spaces helps the house feel a lot bigger than it is.

And the floor plan is just great. It's a little unconventional by western standards, but it looks exceptionally livable to me. And I have an idea. I think this simple rectangular box, with this floorplan, could be the basis of a great prefab, expandable/modular home system. You start with the main 800 sq-ft house, prefab and delivered to your site. It's designed in such a way that additional modules can be added to each end to enlarge the space slightly over time as family needs change or as money allows. As your family grows a little you add on a second prefab module - a 16x16 square living room that tacks on the kitchen end. A third module can be added to the other end to give you a master bedroom with its own efficient bath. Basically, the original 800 sq-ft house gets expanded by another five hundred or so square feet - still modest in size but a little larger overall.

Wouldn't it be great to build a house this way - a little at a time, prefab, so you can buy what you need when you need it, and save the money for each module ahead of time instead of having to take out a bigger and bigger mortgage (instead of paying interest , which drives up lifetime cost, you make interest on your savings, and reduce the time to ownership and avoid debt). Why don't we see more solutions like that coming? I hope that the recent boom in modern prefab will bring us some interesting new options.

The Tezuka Architects site shows a lot of their houses (and their other projects). I dig their work. They've done some really cool houses. The two pics below are of another one I like a lot, the Observatory Room House. More great stuff from Japan. Very inspiring.




Image Credits - Tezuka Architects site

Nice House Plan - Available Online and Designed Ready to Go Green

There are examples of fresh, modern, green homes popping up everywhere right now. It's great to see so many people embracing what I think is quickly becoming a revolution in American housing. Healthy, energy efficient design is here, and it's not going away. And affordability is part of the equation. With people going bust on heavily mortgaged McMansions I think families are beginning to rethink what they really want in a home.

Here's yet another fine example of something different, something better. The Environmental House Plan is a great looking, efficient, environmentally friendly design.





The house is the product of a collaboration between a man who runs a green gardening store and an architect. Who better to work with an architect than someone who knows how to treat the earth gently? The website for this house breaks down the philosophy behind it very simply: design, materials, and technology. Clever design and siting strategies, smart material choices, and the ability to accommodate alternative energy technology make the house ready to go green. For instance, the roof is designed to easily collect rainwater and is situated to block hot western sun, while the foundation is designed to sit gently on the land and promote better air circulation around the house to help moderate temperatures.

Interested? You can buy the construction plans for this house, online, for only $1,895. Cost of construction is only limited by what you choose to do with it - how much green technology to include and what material choices you make.

Oh, and of course, as I often say, do not forget to look at the resources page. There are a ton, and I mean a ton, of great links listed on this site to help you build green.

Open Architecture Network and the ecoMOD Projects

If you haven't seen the news, Cameron Sinclair's Open Architecture Network launched the other day (you can get the full scoop on this post at Inhabitat). Needless to say, this is something really cool. I've had a blast browsing the many exciting projects already up on the site, and I'm really looking forward to seeing this project grow.

Here's a project I saw that I really liked right away - the ecoMOD Project. A design/build/evaluate project from the University of Virginia, ecoMOD is focused on building affordable, green housing. Their first project, the OUTin house is listed on the Open Architecture Network site. Take a minute to read their compelling mission statement for the OUTin House project. Here's an excerpt

"... creatively questions conventional building practices - incorporating sustainable design strategies while enhancing comfort and marketability."

Sounds good, doesn't it! The team for this project really delivered. The OUTin House is an impressive work, incorporating abundant green building strategies: rainwater collection, solar water heater, passive solar design, daylighting, natural ventilation, SIPs and modular construction, Energy Star appliances, low/no VOC finishes, sustainably harvested wood floors and energy monitoring. Whew!

Check out the design - a really beautiful and effective home. Nicely done!





You can see a lot more images on ecoMOD's exhibition page. The house is now complete, and was built for under $100 per square foot.

The ecoMod project has also completed its second work, the preHAB. The mission for preHAB was to deliver a modular, affordable home to a family on the gulf coast displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Here's a excerpt from this project's mission statement:

"Our goal is to create a house that is adjustable to the climate and weather conditions of southern Mississippi. Contained, exterior spaces are an integral element of the design, expanding the apparent size of the house, while simultaneously helping to passively cool it. These spaces will incorporate elements that are able to both shade harsh sunlight and adapt to become hurricane protection devices."

Like the first project, the preHAB project delivered an inspiring design:




See more images of this project on its exhibition page.

I'm definitely looking forward to the next ecoMOD project. It's really wonderful to see this kind of work. And it's great that projects like the Open Architecture Network are coming alive to help foster the sharing of ideas.

Image credits - ecoMOD site

SECCA's Home House Project

This past weekend I picked up a book on The Home House Project, which chronicles the top entries to the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Arts' (SECCA) innovative competition that challenges artists and architects to find new and unique solutions to low and moderate income family housing.

The goals for the project are really admirable: "1) to provide inspired design in the affordable housing market for those who historically have been omitted from enjoying its benefits; 2) to establish a new national housing model in terms of design, energy efficiency, environmental consciousness, and cost effectiveness that can change the stigma attached to affordable housing throughout the United States; 3) to showcase the most recent advances in sustainable design and 4) to foster new partnerships with people, organizations and communities across the United States involved in the creative applications of affordable design."

I have to say, the SECCA really must be pleased with the results. The entrants totally succeeded in creating extremely forward-looking, effective, unique, and affordable houses. And the book is really wonderful. Not only is the text full of interesting, thought-provoking ideas, the pages are packed with color illustrations of some really different and outstanding houses - some ingenious in their practicality, others wild and extreme. Take a look here for .pdf files of all the top 25 entrants. Great competition that is definitely bringing new dimensions to affordable housing, and great book to chronicle the work.

Image Credit - Home House Project page on SECCA site

Arkin-Tilt Architects Mill Valley Straw Bale House

If you haven't heard of Arkin-Tilt Architects maybe you've been living under a rock. But just in case you haven't, let me introduce you. The firm, whose principles are the husband and wife duo of David Arkin and Anni Tilt, have been leading the way in sustainable architecture with fresh designs, adaptive reuse, natural building, and alternative energy.

To see what Arkin-Tilt do best, take a look at their ever-popular Mill Valley Straw Bale Residence. To me this house embodies the future of American homes. It has great style (the signature Arkin-Tilt vernacular meets craftsman bungalow meets modern meets Cali-shack), straw bale wall systems, plentiful use of recycled materials and passive heating and cooling techniques, modest size (about 1800 sq-ft) and a cost conscious and versatile family friendly plan.



Communal spaces are maximized in a large and lofty open-plan main living area while bedrooms are smaller but nest-like. Entrances are well thought out - designed for how families really come and go. Large windows in the clerestory roof flood the house with natural light and allow heat to escape in hot weather. Built-in storage abounds along the home's main interior wall that divides public and private rooms. Outdoor spaces are designed for comfortable year-round use. It's hard to imagine more home packed into such a modestly sized residence.



You can read more about this house in several magazines and books, including one of my favorites, The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture, as well as The New Straw Bale Home. Like it? You can live in it - buy the prints at Healthy Home Plans and build your own (you can see the floor plan and more images there too).

Arkin-Tilt are doing great things. Many of their other homes feature photovoltaics and other green energy strategies. And alway, always, with great style. Some are absolutely spectacular. But I think I like the little Mill Valley house the best because it challenges the norms of what a family house should be, and in so doing packs a lot of living in a modest and affordable package. Good stuff.

Image Credits: Arkin-Tilt site

"Cargotecture" by Hybrid Seattle

If you're curious about homes built with reclaimed sea containers take a look at Hybrid Seattle. You cannot go wrong with a firm who's "motivating philosophy is green-tech-mod." I just love that! One look at their renderings and you instantly get it. Their original prototype sea container cabin has been featured in a lot of places. I first saw it on HGTV's show Small Space, Big Style. It's too cool. But take a look at the images of some of their other "cargotecture" designs. Fresh and fantastic! It's great to see such an original aesthetic and a unique utilization of materials to make a new solution for living. Nice site with great pics and a very cool slide show on "Prefabrication and Sustainability in the New Global Age."






But don't be fooled into thinking Hybrid Seattle is all style and no substance. The slide show I mentioned above gives you a hint of the interesting and important work this firm is doing. In fact, they're working on a large scale cargotecture housing project in Seattle that will be built by mid-2008, and doing extensive research and consulting on green prefabricated building systems. Hybrid collaborates (rather than competing with) other firms, as well as academia all around the world. They are truly working on revolutionary housing concepts. Without question, of the many exciting firms doing work on green/modern/prefab right now Hybrid is one of the ones to really watch.





And in the meantime, if you're just thinking about a cool cargotecture house for your family, keep an eye out for a section of their site that is coming soon which will allow visitors to configure, price, view and save to .pdf their own c640 cargotecture house. I'm told it should be up and running within a few months. I know I'll be looking forward to trying it out!




Image Credits: Hybrid Seattle

GrassrootsModern.com - Great Website for Affordable Modern

If you're looking for a great site on affordable modern, look no further than GrassrootsModern. The blog is dedicated to "those looking for modern contemporary style at an affordable price" and it delivers. In particular, the site's proprietor has a gift for finding fantastic modern furniture at prices you won't believe. If you're looking for a new, modern sofa for under $300 this is the place to go to get ideas. GrassrootsModern abounds with wonderful posts on design ranging from clocks to kitchens to seating, and everything in between. They're in the process of remodeling their home, and you can follow their progress in their posts. They're also having a baby, so of course there are lots of great posts on modern furniture and design for kids. GrassrootsModern has a pretty lively forum too. It's a site I really enjoy, and if you are looking for modern on a budget I think you'll enjoy it as well.

Affordable Modern - David Sarti and Upe Flueckiger Houses

If you have any doubt that a fresh, modern home can be built affordably there are two houses you need to look at.

One is architect David Sarti's cool 800 sq-ft house in Seattle. I've been drawn to this home's sunny disposition since I read about it in Dwell a few months ago. There's also a really good Seattle times article online, as well as a nice piece on Metropolis by Karrie Jacobs, author of the recent book, The Perfect $100,000 House. Using simple materials Sarti built a great home on an urban infill lot in expensive Seattle for well under $200,000. The house has huge windows that let light pour in, high ceilings, spacious and comfortable rooms, and an attached workshop. The house is also featured on an episode of HGTV's Small Space Big Style (one of my favorite shows).







The other house is architect Upe Flueckiger’s home in Texas. This house is for a family, has 2700 sq-ft, and cost only $51/sq-ft to build! Like Sarti’s house, simple materials and clever design are used to control cost and make the most of the space. The house is cheerful and clean and made for modern and stylish family living. Flueckiger is interviewed on mocoloco.com. There’s also a nice article on the home at the NY Times website.






I'll keep looking for other examples of great modern homes built on a budget. Rest assured, they are out there!

Image Credits: Seattle Times Article, MoCo Loco Interview