Photovoltaic Systems

Archive for the ‘Modern architecture’ Category

The University of Tennessee recently opened the New Norris House, a 21st-century home that revisits the old Norris community project.  As background, during the Great Depression, the Tennessee Valley Authority built a model community as part of a water works project in Tennessee.  According to the New Norris House site, the old Norris homes were innovative and included electricity and heating systems for the first time in the region.

The New Norris House builds on this history with a prefabricated home, solar hot water, rainwater collection, and all sorts of features that should reward the project team with LEED Platinum certification.

The project is a “living laboratory to measure energy efficiency, natural light, air quality and the effectiveness of an innovative water infiltration and treatment system. The system relies on gardens to treat rainwater and grey water,” according to a recent statement issued by the University.

UT landscape architecture professor Ken McCown and information science graduate student Mary Leverance will live in the 768 square-foot home during the next year to provide tours and help with monitoring efforts.  McCown and Leverance will blog here about their experience living in the home.

Clayton Homes, the company behind this net-zero i-House, assisted with the design and construction of a prefabricated base of the home.  New Norris also has Andersen windows/doors, reclaimed white oak floors, and a random pattern of white cedar board cladding.

The total project cost is guesstimated to be about $300,000 – $400,000, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel, which approximates over two years of work with salaries, transportation to and from the site, land costs, site work and installation, etc. 

The legal footprint of the home is smaller than the average American home, yet it was designed to live larger with a storage loft, decks, a large outdoor patio space, and an extensive landscape effort. The design won an EPA award in 2009 and a 2011 Prize for Creative Integration of Practice and Education from the National Council of Architectural Registration Board.

[+] More info on the New Norris House from the University of Tennessee.

Credits: Ken McCown (#1, #4), UT (#3), Michael Patrick (#2).

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Cascade Built just announced a new single-family home in the Madison Valley neighborhood of Seattle, Washington.  “Alley House 2″ was designed by Seattle-based David Foster Architects and is currently under construction by Method Homes in an off-site factory.  The project team is seeking LEED Platinum certification with completion set for about October 2011.

Located near the original Alley House (which was constructed by Cascade Built), this contemporary home gets its name from being on an infill lot with alley access.

The green prefab is pre-selling, according to a listing with Infinite Real Estate and Development, for $599,000.  That includes a 1,687 square-foot home with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a one-car garage.

Alley House 2 will have advanced framing, ample natural light, solar hot water, hydronic in-floor heat, on-demand hot water, zero- and low-VOC finishes, strand bamboo flooring, rainscreen siding, pervious paving, drought-tolerant plantings, and a roof ready for vegetation and solar PV.

Credit: David Foster Architects. 

Related Articles on JetsonGreen.com:

1. Platinum Modern Prefab Drops in Seattle
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I love this modern, backyard office by in.it studios for Klor, a design studio that makes trailer graphics for films such as Juno, Inglorious Bastards, and Scott Pilgrim.  It’s distinct from the home and creates a commute-free place to get the job done.

The home office was made with eco-friendly materials, LED lights, birch ply interior walls, a green sedum roof, concrete-saving plinth foundation, and sustainably-harvested timber.  A studio like this starts at about $15,000 in the UK.

In.it studios prefabricates these in Leicestershire, UK and ships them throughout Europe.  The company handles all aspects of the design, fabrication, build, and finish.  Another example of an in.it studios prefab is this tiny modern retreat in Slough.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Exo looks like some sort of space station, but it’s actually a clever housing unit for emergency shelter situations.  A cargo truck can carry about 15 of these — packed in two pieces, the base and upper shell — and a team of four can move and set one up in under two minutes.  When assembled and connected, Exo has lighting, climate control, wall outlets, and four fold-down beds.

The floor plate weighs 371 pounds, while the shell weighs 406 pounds.  The floors are made of birch, and the shell has 3″ of rigid insulation and a coat of Tegris on the inside and outside.

Exo is almost completely recyclable, and it’s free of PVC and formaldehyde.  The lighting is with mercury-free LEDs and the total livable area comes to about 76 square feet.

Reaction Systems, Inc., the company behind Exo, has been demonstrating the new system in a hangar in Texas.  It seems like a no-brainer and could provide a temporary but respectable shelter replacement on a moment’s notice, assuming a relief organization has the units ready for deployment.

[+] More info on Exo in the Reaction Housing System.

Credits: Reaction Systems, Inc.

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