By: Johnny Hartsfield

Danish architects Tegnestuen Vandkunsten have developed a low-cost modular housing prototype that was the product of a 2004 competition to create affordable units without sacrificing architectural quality.  This prototype will help their Danish client launch the next 124 courtyard homes.  There are four different courtyard housing types, derived from 5.2×5.2 meter modules, gathered around a communal space.  Each kitchen window opens out onto these intimate landscapes.  The facades of each building are carbonized (baked or heat-treated) wood and aluminum.

The concept is called ”bedre billigere boliger (bbb)” and literally translates to mean “better cheaper housing”.  Creating an affordable project with high architectural detailing was a challenge.  One design area the client chose to spend money on was the windows.  By putting more money in all the windows, the overall quality of the project could be raised in one single move. 

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By: Johnny Hartsfield

Sited on a hillside overlooking Lake Sammamish and the Cascade Mountains near Seattle, the Zero Energy Idea House minimizes energy usage while maximizing comfort and style.  At only 1,700 square-feet, this two bedroom home combines solar power with the most efficient building products and appliances that result in a total energy bill of less than $500 per year.  Additional features include: SIPs (structural insulated panels), rainwater collection, salvaged wood flooring, efficient ventilation, green roof and a “living wall”  used for soil retention.

For this project, the term “zero energy” does not actually mean that the house uses no energy.  The home actually combines on-site power generation with other efficiency measures to meet its own energy requirements.  So, the solar panels will meet electrical needs and heat hot water but the hydronic in-floor radiant heating system will be gas-powered. 

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By: Johnny Hartsfield

And the Australian Institute of Architects Small Project award goes to: Casey Brown’s Permanent Camping.  Permanent Camping is a small 3×3x6m prefab tower situated in Australia’s outback.  The sides are made of corrugated copper to protect against brush fires and fold up and down for shade and security.  Amenities include a kitchen, sleeping loft, detached copper-clad outhouse and a water collection tank. 

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By: Johnny Hartsfield

Verana Hotels has just expanded their Yelapa, Mexico hotel with 5 units of prefabricated modern dwellings perched high on a cliff.  Each V-House, designed by Heinz Legler, is 16′x16′ with open sides to maintain views and air flow.  This project was an experiment of sorts and is intended to house guests and seasonal hotel staff.  Standing 18′ apart, the V-houses have basically no environmental impact or foot print and can be built on any surface condition.

Each house is self sufficient with solar integration, composting toilets and a grey water system that helps irrigate the surrounding garden.  Prefabricated in Puerto Vallarta, the homes were delivered by boat and carried up the hill using no machinery or heavy duty equipment.  The structures emerge from a small concrete foundation and are made out of steel, plywood and red corrugated iron.   

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By: Johnny Hartsfield

Earlier this year, Envisioning Gateway-an international competition for the Gateway National Recreation Area in New York/New Jersey-announced its winning entry for an innovative, visionary and compelling proposal celebrating the unique potential of the park as both a regional resource and a national environmental treasure.

Ashley Kelly and Rikako Wakabayashi’s winning entry, Mapping the Ecotone, took on the dual task of developing a master plan to unify the separate units of the Gateway National Recreation Area and to design a new park at Floyd Bennet Field in Jamaica Bay.  Their goal was to “create a highly visible, experiential public infrastructure that responds to the shifting ecosystem of Jamaica Bay and defines a new vision of the relationship between nature and people.” 

The design actually encourages development and human interaction along coastal edges where recently, people have been fleeing from disastrous climate change phenomenon.  The result is an “urban park that creates a microcosm of shifting habitats, program and landforms.”

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By: Johnny Hartsfield

This 1,600-square-foot structure was designed and built for the people of Greensburg by the students in the University of Kansas School of Architecture’s award-winning Studio 804 course.  Using modular design dimensioned to the length of long truck trailers rather than the width, the 547 Community Art Center is a LEED Platinum building that uses a combination of active and passive energy systems including water reclamation, solar integration and cross ventilation.  Other sustainable features include: wind turbines, geothermal heating, thermal massing and a green roof.

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By: Johnny Hartsfield

Momo is a modern modular-based interpretation of the weekend cottage designed by Thomas Lind from Grasshopper Studio.  The house contains two modular boxes of living space separated by an outdoor lounge area.  The structure is covered with a tensile fabric roof structure and is flexible enough in design to give a myriad of layout opportunities that can be moved for various urban and residential situations.

The larger module contains the living area, kitchen, bathroom, master bedroom and children’s bedroom whereas the smaller section is for guests.  Made of solid wood at 10 square meters, each module is able to be customized to meet different building site and user needs.  The foundation is designed with pillars with a surrounding wooden terrace and the roof contains grasses and succulents. 

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By: Johnny Hartsfield

Designer Charles Lee from the BIOS Design Collective has recently created a concept that facilitates bio-remediation through public art sculpture.  A series of photobioreactors, consisting of an aluminum carriage with a continuous spiraling tube cascading from the top, absorb light and nutrients to maximize algal biomass.  This semi-closed system uses pollutants and CO2 for nutrients and thus provides a form of bio-remediation and atmospheric greenhouse gas reduction. 

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By: Johnny Hartsfield

Designed to replace the traditional solar roof, the Solar Tree makes alternative energy more profitable and sustainable.  Designed by Gurdeep Sandhu, the Solar Tree has adjustable and movable “solar wings” that allow the tree to draw maximum energy throughout the day.  Its ability to fold up reduces potential damage due to weather and makes it easy to move and store for different application.  Sandhu envisions his Solar Tree sitting in a garden or possibly on a roof. 

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By: Johnny Hartsfield

I thought I would just share some inspiring images of Icelandic turf houses.  This type of construction has been done for centuries and I still find it unbelievable how the United States is just now starting to catch on - very slowly. 

“The Icelandic turf house was the product of a difficult climate, offering superior insulation compared to buildings solely made of wood or stone. And the relative difficulty in obtaining other construction materials in sufficient quantities.

Iceland had few forested areas when it was settled, and what forests there were was often largely birch trees. Birch timber is not well suited to large and complex structures, but nonetheless a frame could be made with it. This also meant that it was difficult for ships to be built, this culminated with a lack of vessels that could transport large cargos (Iceland’s harsh winters added to the problem by increasing ship maintenance and occasionally destroying them). Due to the lack of transport and Iceland’s remoteness, importing foreign timber was not very common and was mostly reserved for ship and church building. However, Iceland did have a large amount of turf that was suitable for construction.”

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By: Johnny Hartsfield

Christensen & Co Arketekter has been short-listed for the Low Cost Housing Competition, 12,000m².  Their project, Low emission housing in Allerod, is based on three parameters: low construction costs, high energy efficiency and quality housing.  The design team has achieved this by a repetition of a few pre-fab units.  The units are situated on the site as a series of terraces that open to a centralized green common area that provides circulation and gathering space for the residents.

This is the scale where modular construction show its true benefits.  Like any factory process, a larger number of units migrating across the assembly line allows an efficiency and cost effectiveness that cannot be matched by traditional construction practices.

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By: Johnny Hartsfield

The city of Saitama Japan started construction of its colossal storm sewer system in 1992 and is now open for tours.  The extensive system was built to avoid city-wide flooding during the typhoon season and is composed of giant concrete silos (65m tall and 32m wide) connected by 6.4km of underground tunnels.  Extending 50m below the surface, the system also contains a giant tank that is 25.4m tall, 177m long, 78m wide and a total of 59 concrete columns.

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By: Johnny Hartsfield

The Pharos Project is a consumer-driven method for evaluating green building materials that is in harmony with principles of environmental health and justice.  The success of this project relies on a partnership between those who use building materials and those who study the products’ impacts on health and the environment.  Using a transparent web-based model, the Project is made up of three elements: the Framework, Lens, and Wiki.

Mapping a 360 degree view of green material attributes, the Pharos Project aims to put the control back in the hands of the consumer.  The Pharos framework is organized into three categories (1) Health + Pollution   (2) Environment + Resources  and  (3) Social + Community.

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By: Johnny Hartsfield

On our Nation’s proudest day, GreenFab will not be sharing with you the top 5 ways to green your 4th of July party or how to have an Eco-friendly Independence Day.   By now we should all be making great strides to live this way everyday.  And frankly, we just hate to point out the obvious.  So, for this year’s 4th of July holiday, GreenFab would simply like to say - BE HAPPY and BE SAFE. 

The best thing we can do for our planet today is to spend time with friends and family sharing the passions and hopes we have for a more sustainable future.  Inspired dialogue leads to great things! 

GreenFab is ready to inspire the world about truly sustainable design…but we need your help!  We do not claim to know everything and that is why we are searching for inspired writers to share knowledge, projects and ideas related to sustainable design and healthier living.  As a contributing writer to our blog, you will become part of a social movement that will have a great impact on our future as a healthy planet.  We need your passion to make this happen! 

Step one (1) read what GreenFab is all about and review our easy-to-follow contributing writer guidelines.  Step two (2) contact us and share your stories.   If you and your story is a match, we will post it! 

Please contact us at info@green-fab.com if you are interested in becoming part of a growing team of inspired writers.  All contributing writers will receive proper credit and exposure for anything posted.  One time articles are ok and cross-posting is encouraged. 

Together, we can accomplish more!