Photovoltaic Systems

Archive for the ‘Modern architecture’ Category

When Don Lenzer and Bettina Volz started looking around for a builder in the New York area, they quickly realized that they couldn’t meet their budget requirements with conventional construction.  The owners’ design firm, Stelle Architects, found Arizona-based ASUL (Adaptable System for Universal Living), who collaborated with the designer to provide an alternative construction methodology with a budget of $200 per square foot.  This is the Lenzer/Volz residence in Amagansett, New York.

ASUL, discussed here and here, uses “mass customization” to deliver a custom architectural home while still maintaining predictability and affordability.  The company does this with modular components (rooms, floors, decks, awnings, etc.) that can be combined in myriad configurations using a steel frame sans structural walls.

While under construction, ASUL uses a “refined site-built process” using its own crew, supplier relationships, and technology to achieve substantial cost and time savings relative to the traditional design-build process.

This process is already underway in New York with the Lenzer/Volz Residence.  ASUL is running a Facebook page to document the sustainable aspects and other construction details of the home.  For example, ASUL will track all material moving around the site to calculate the total amount of waste created and recycled.

The Stelle Architects home has three bedrooms, 3,000 square feet, and will be Energy Star rated.  Early on, Stelle ditched plans for roof-mounted solar due to the surrounding forest canopy.  Stelle also considered a geothermal system but dropped this idea because of the heavy clay content of the soil.  Thus, this home relies on siting, orientation, strong design, and passive solar principles to conserve energy.

[+] Follow the Hamptons Home project on Facebook.

Credits: Stelle Architects (renderings); ASUL (construction photos).

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Take a moment to notice what’s happening across the pond.  This is the Tetra Shed, a inventive building system that uses up to six modules to create extra space — home office,  play space, beach hut, pop-up retail — in most any location.  The exterior can be custom painted or finished with copper, zinc, corten steel, or marine plywood, while the interior can be finished with LED lights and birch-faced plywood or plasterboard.  Tetra Shed, designed by David Ajasa-Adekunle, arrives in the UK in January 2012.

[+] See more photos of the modular, expandable Tetra Shed.

Credits: Tetra Shed; noticed at Shedworking.

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Southtown Greenbound is a new, short documentary of an award-winning prototype development — the Biering Project — that’s both affordable and sustainable in San Antonio, Texas. Biering includes two, 1,500 square-foot homes wrapped in a diaphanous aluminum screen that reduces solar heat gain, fosters privacy during the day, and illuminates during the night. The screen truly distinguishes the homes.

Biering Project received LEED-H Silver and has grey water irrigation system, tankless hot water heaters, low-e windows, European-style kitchens, Energy Star appliances, and private garden spaces.

The homes were developed by architect Hilary Scruggs, who designed, developed, and built them homes herself. She’s featured prominently in Southtown Greenbound, sharing background on the twin rental properties.

Both homes leased quickly so Scruggs is moving on to a 1,300 square-foot speculative home and a five-unit rental, according to Residential Architect.

[+] Watch other videos about the Biering Project.

Credits: Geoff Sheerar and Operative Ventures.

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San Antonio-based Lake|Flato, an architectural firm with several AIA COTE Top 10 green projects, this week announced its latest endeavor in the world of prefab with the Porch House.  Porch House is an eco-friendly home that combines factory-built modules and custom outdoor elements, such as porches, breezeways, carports, and terraces.  The result is a contemporary, site-specific, LEED-certified home that can be delivered in about six- to nine-months after the inception of design.

Each Porch House is energy efficient and includes views, solar orientation, outdoor spaces, high-efficiency mechanical systems, water saving features, natural ventilation systems with operable doors and windows, low-energy materials, healthy building materials, daylighting, energy-efficient lighting, and passive design.

Lake|Flato can also help clients achieve net-zero energy consumption with photovoltaic solar.

The home modules can be set individually, stacked, or side-by-side.  They’re built 70 miles northwest of Houston by GroundFORCE Building Systems, according to San Antonio Express-News.

The first Porch House was completed in the Hill Country of Vanderpool, which is northwest of San Antonio, while a second is under construction and others have been designed for sites in other states.  A Porch House can be finished for about $150-$225 per square foot, not including design services.

[+] More info about the Lake|Flato Porch House.

Credits: Lake|Flato. 

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