factory fabulous-ness
Visits to the factory are always interesting, especially when it is for a project we have designed being built my our favorite factory, Blazer Industries. Here are photos from a Blazer visit for one of my favorite recent homes we designed in northern California. Look for setting and finished photos coming up in a few [...]
Modular Construction
What is Off-site Construction? A modular home is constructed using three-dimensional boxes or “modules”. The home is built to site-built code, but created in a factory. Interior and exterior sheathing, utility lines, interior partitions and stairs are all completed in the factory. The modules are 90-95% complete when they come off the assembly line in [...]
Prefab Green
In Prefab Green, architect Michelle Kaufmann shares her vision of creating thoughtful, sustainable design for everyone. Her work blends sustainable home layouts, eco-friendly materials, and low-energy options to create a “prepackaged” green solution to home design. Kaufmann tells about five eco-principles that are present in every design her firm creates-smart design, eco-materials, energy efficiency, water [...]
A new type of prefab
It continues to amaze me that some people still think that the best way to build a home is on site. It’s like asking your car to be built in your driveway. Now that we have the ability to build a home in a controlled factory environment, stick built just doesn’t make sense anymore. The [...]
A very special group of monks
Seeing these photos of the modules successfully being shipped and set to the New Camaldoli Hermitage in Big Sur, CA couldn’t make me more happy (and also extremely thankful). The monks at the Hermitage are honestly some of the most special people I have ever met and the site of their monastery is nothing short [...]
another day, another 8 modules get set
It has been an exciting morning so far. First, I woke up to the Denver Post and read the article titled “Denver nuns go green and modular” and included a fabulous quote from Sister Sue Artone-Fricke “Our heritage as Franciscan sisters is that we take responsibility for the Earth and see all creation as our [...]
whoa. miss and few weeks + miss the entire construction
Wow. I missed a few weeks of seeing Kate Hilberg’s photos on the progress of Casa Chiara, and I almost missed all the construction. This is the time when the modular construction just sings. Things move fast, and the excitement grows. Kate (Project Manager with Urban Ventures LLC on the Casa Chiara project) takes photos [...]
construction of the Smart Home may 2008
may 1, 2008 Even though it sits right next to one of the largest lakes in the United States, the Smart Home exhibit (opening at the Museum of Science and Industry next week!) contains as many water conserving solutions. Water conservation is crucial in this day and age as water is quickly becoming the next [...]
construction of the Smart Home april 2008
april 9, 2008 Photo by J Jeffery Johnson These photos of the Smart Home, taken just this morning at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, show a few very exciting things going on there right now. Not only does it look a bit warmer than it did a few weeks ago during the [...]
construction of the Smart Home march 2008
march 3, 2008 Mark you calendars: we’re setting the Smart Home this week on Wednesday and Thursday! The foundation is complete and the modules are being shipped out. Despite nearly freezing temperatures in Chicago, our team is going ahead with the setting of those modules onto that foundation at the Museum of Science and Industry [...]
construction of the Smart Home february, 2008
february 2, 2008 Photo by All American Closure is a good thing, especially when we’re talking about the building you live in, and especially when that building is in a place like Chicago with its hot, hot summers and cold, cold winters. This week, closure is just what the Smart Home is getting. The All [...]
construction of Smart Home – January 2008
January 7, 2008 Tonight I am actually posting this blog entry to you from beautiful Chicago. I am here at the Museum of Science and Industry (MSI) for this super exciting announcement: we have been working very hard for the past few months to get to this point and are now finally ready and delighted [...]
