Gottfried Green

The NYTimes wrote about a couple who suffered through some hardships building a small, second home in Hood River Oregon but not because of the reasons you'd think. I'm sure it didn't hurt to have backgrounds in architecture, sustainable design and to be building in Oregon (more progressive in this sort of thing?). They did run into similar problems that we found here in FL which surprised me. The county, the bank and the appraiser all had problems because their design wasn't big enough and Tudor style like the others near by and didn't have a 2 car garage. Our bank had a problem with no pool, no concrete driveway, only one bathroom and wanting to wait to add a cooling system. I have to admit I gave in a little more and sacrificed some of what I wanted (without the AC they wouldn't give us the loan and unfortunately for me they were the easiest bank I found to work with us on anything and have a decent interest rate). Without the architecture/green design experience it proved impossible to find all the knowledge and experience to build green in the way that I had hoped and so I am stuck with trying to keep as much of the project for later as I could. It's not saying what the building envelop is but some of their green ideas are in the article, "A KEY concept for the house was “to literally have no footprint,” Ms. Donohue said. The roof is engineered to sustain plants and soil to absorb rainwater. Planters with native grasses, which are embedded in the cedar deck and walkway, also help absorb rainwater while screen-covered inserts in the concrete storage units allow floodwater to flow in and out. “There’s the idea that nature is running through the building,” Mr. McKean said. Other features include tigerwood flooring certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, a vegetable wax finish, a water-conserving toilet, an on-demand water heater and in the bathroom a solar tube — a type of skylight that intensifies natural light — to use in place of a regular electrical fixture."

Labels: cost, design, prefab

I couldn't find a picture on her website of the bathroom but the bedroom looks almost exactly like ours will look with the high windows over our bed.

Eco-Friendly Bathroom Features:
- FSC certified wood cabinetry
"Not sure we'll be using cabinetry in the bathroom."

- Floor and wall tiles contain 55% recycled glass
"I think this is going to be Home Depot small, hexagon white tile on the floor. The recycled glass can be pricey."

- Eco-friendly plumbing fixtures, low-flow shower head, mixer, and dual-flush toilet by Kohler
"Yes."

- LED lighting
"Yes."

Labels: cost, interiors, materials, prefab

Eco-Friendly Kitchen Features:
- FSC certified wood cabinetry
"We're doing Ikea so it is what it is."

- Fly ash concrete, rice hull, and recycled porcelain aggregates countertops
"Looking into recycled counters of some sort but haven't decided which one."

- Eco-friendly/low-flow plumbing fixtures by Kohler
"Yes."

- LED lighting
"Yes."

- EnergyStar appliances
"Yes."

Labels: cost, interiors, materials, prefab

Interior:

- Sustainable layout for maximum cross ventilation and natural lighting
"We tried our best here but we think we pulled it off."

- No-VOC paint
"Yes."

- Interior sliding door panels comprised of 40% post-industrial reclaimed material
"Tough one but we'll see what's out there."

Labels: cost, interiors, materials, prefab

In thinking about how to do the best we can with what we have in terms of budget, knowledge, materials and subs who could work with those materials. I am going to throw all of that out of the window and look at what makes up the mkLotus^TM. We won't be able to do all of it now but maybe we could do some of it later: (The mkLotus^TM list is below with my comments for each in quotes)

- Green "living" roof
"The slope of our roof lends itself to the possibility of a few solar panels someday and also solar water heating. However, I have heard of green "living" walls although I don't know how practical they would be. There is the side of our house that will receive the most sunlight daily and with very limited windows. If it is possible I'd like to experiment with green walls on that side at some point in the future."

- 100% solar generator power
"future goal"

- Rain and groundwater catchment system
"We won't have irrigation needs because everything is going to be native. However, we will have a vegetable garden and so we can install rain barrels to catch water from the roof to use for this purpose. I am not sure if we'll ever have a cistern but we'll start with the obvious options first."

- Gray water system: collected water from sinks and shower is recirculated to toilets
"Should be able to integrate these options as I mentioned here in a past post."

- Exterior siding: low-maintenance, long-lasting integral color cement board and FSC certified wood
"For us this would mean Hardiboard and we simply can't afford it, we'll be doing stucco in gray."

- Sheathing and floor + ceiling framing: FSC Certified Wood
"Because of cost- TBD."

- SIPS wall assembly (Structural Insulated Panels)
"This one we couldn't navigate through or afford up front. It would have been a company called E-Wall.

- High performance, energy efficient spray-in open cell foam insulation
"I desperately want to use soy-based spray foam but once again the cost is a killer."

- On-demand water heater
"We'll be going tankless."

- Energy Efficient HVAC System
"We'll have this one covered as well."

- Double pane, Low-E, wood windows and glass doors with aluminum cladding
"We'll have impact windows with a gray tint to reflect the sunlight, Low-E pushed the windows out of our budget. However, we tried our best at passive, solar design."

Labels: building envelopes, cost, design, materials, prefab, water

Before we actually left Brooklyn to move to FL, we had heard of Michele Kaufman and loved an earlier design, The Glidehouse. I had a post entitled, "Prefab We Can't Have". It's the odd thing here in FL because prefab isn't really going to stand up to strong winds and the other factors that play into a sub-tropical climate. If it were up to us, we would already be living in the Glidehouse but that model was not available to or recommended for FL. That was when we investigated the Rocio Romero LVL model which was designed to withstand 150 mph winds. The problem was it was still a stick frame house of basically particle board and stud sections. Basically we would have paid a few thousand dollars to have sections of lumber shipped from Perryville, MO. These would then have to be treated for termites and mold and then filled with insulation. By the time we would have custom designed the elevated level we needed for FEMA and fortified the prefab structure, the seemingly safe, sound prefab was going to end up being around $250 sf. It was at that point that we left the idea of prefab behind and just designed our own house. Kaufman's new design featured at the West Coast Green Conference is, however, very inspiring.

Labels: design, prefab

Not only stating her case but the video also highlights something we got into back in the early days with our first architects. You can use Google Sketch Up to place your home in its actual site and see how it fits in. My old architects were able to pick a time of year and a time of day to see how the sunlight ran across the house to better plan the passive solar design. I haven't yet been able to figure that one out and it may only be available on the paid version. Visit Google Sketch Up.

Labels: cost, design, prefab, siteplan, software, water

Although we feel that our first design wasn't that over the top at 2200 sq ft, it was just too custom to make sense in cost. With a prefab you can have more control over cost as what you see is what you get and also everything comes with the purchase price. I should be getting the standard set of plans in few days. We will only be making minor changes to the standard layout. The other issue is the required elevation of the building. These pictures are of the first LVL home built which was named Luminhaus by its owners. Rocio Romero is the architect that created the design. You get a lot at 1453 sq ft... It sounds small but the layout has 9ft ceilings throughout and we've come up with a perfect solution to add some extra space
as well. Hopefully this will be the one that works out and we'll finally have a place to call home.

Labels: cost, design, prefab

So we've been off task for a while but a lot has been going on behind the scenes. We were at a stand still while we kept the dream alive of affording our first design idea. The official numbers have come back and it is twice what we had wanted to spend. A bit discouraged I went back to Kit Homes Modern, a book by Ima Ebong that we received before we left Brooklyn. The problem at the time was that none of the prefabs mentioned in the book addressed the hurricane issue. After a new investigation of these options, we did indeed find a design that now offers a hurricane model that withstands up to 150mph winds... and we love the design. We've decided to start fresh with Rocio Romero LLC as the architect and the manufacturer of this prefab kit home.

Labels: design, prefab

Archinect posted a link to The Happy New House which according to the website is, "A “new millennium” single-family home -- remodeled from an existing mid-century dwelling -- highlighting bang-for-the-buck design forwardness + a sensitivity to family dynamics." The site is unique showing its cool virtual concept coupled with the work-in-progress photos of the nitty gritty.

Labels: blogs, design, prefab, websites

So far, The Glidehouse by architect Michelle Kaufmann is the perfect prefab for us. The problem is they don't do FL and they DO blow down. We can certainly pick up on some of the design elements. The Glidehouse is different from many Prefabs because she uses green materials throughout. The prefab idea is still a good idea if we can find something in the FL area. We love the layout though so we are using it to help us plan how we'll be moving around in our new place once it's built. See more about The Glidehouse at the Link.

Labels: design, prefab

If you guessed Ikea, then at least we know their key marketing technique has paid off- naming products names no one can pronounce (ok, so maybe only in the US). The BoKlok prefab house is actually named after the Swedish phrase for "smart living." As soon as we thought prefab, Mr. Gottfried thought Ikea. This is an example of prefab that wouldn't be very smart for us as soon as the wind came through. Also, I can't seem to find if these are offered in the US officially yet.

Labels: design, prefab

We had been ignoring prefab housing kits as an option because we assumed they would blow away even in tropical storm winds. While googling hurricane proof prefab houses, Mr. Gottfried came across the 12 container house designed by architect Adam Kalkin. This house also came up in the book "kit homes modern" by Ima Ebong we received recently as a gift. The NYTimes article at the Link explains the idea thoroughly with a great slide show as well. We are so excited to think about actually taking this road as it uses recycled materials and I assume could be implemented further with green systems. Who knew a container shed so much light?

Labels: design, prefab