Custom Northern California Home
This home in Northern California was designed to collaborate with the surrounding landscape. Through
strategically placed glass windows and doors one feels like they are outdoors wherever they are, the spaces are washed with natural light, while breezes are used to help keep the house cool. Sustainable materials and systems are used throughout including FSC certified [...]
sisters of sustainability
As an architect, one of the most rewarding things is working with a truly special client on a truly special project. I feel so fortunate and honored to be able to work with some of the most amazing people I have met in my life to co-create beautiful dwellings with them. One such example is [...]
treehugger interview: michelle kaufmann imagines a future of green building
My first post as a guest writer for one of my all-time favorite green websites Treehugger. They are interviewing a bunch of cool peeps for Earth Day.
Here you can read my thoughts:
TreeHugger: What are the major advances have you seen (in your field) during the past 40 years? What, if any, were the major failures?
Michelle [...]
Aria Denver – 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 [...]
Aria Denver – Snow for Sisters Prefab
The Casa Chiara project is being finalized, and the Sisters are moving in. Moving day in the current Denver snow has turned out to be quite an adventure. However, these are very strong women, and piles of snow are not going to stop them from moving into their homes.
This photo below was taken just a [...]
AriaDenver – Co-Housing
Now that Phase 1 of the ariaDenver project (the sisters housing) is almost complete and the sisters have moved in, the Co-housing portion of the project is starting. Tomorrow there will be a presentation by Jim Leach on the benefits of co-housing and a description of living in a community with a vision of a [...]
ariaDenver – next phase officially beginning
Last week was an exciting one. I was in Denver to see the final 8 modules get set for the first green/prefab multifamily project that I have worked on, and actually the first one that I am aware of that has been built. The project consisted of 16 modules, and the final 8 were set [...]
Smart Home – How green building can save the housing industry
I just read this great article by John Wasik (author of The Cul-de-Sac Syndrome: Turning Around the Unsustainable American Dream and The Audacity of Help) on the ABC 7 website. John writes:
“Green is gold. Why didn’t homebuilders get this idea? They could be building new homes again, employing millions, making inner cities and suburbs habitable and [...]
Saving money on Solar
It is with mixed feelings that Kevin and I open our Pacific Gas + Electric bill that includes data on how much energy our house created and house much energy we used for each month of the past year. PG+E calls this the “True-up” statement. While we are proud that our house (and its inhabitants) [...]
Eco-Home Competition Winners Announced
After hundreds of entries, thousands of online public votes, and much heated discussion among the jury, the winners of the Eco-Home competition by FreeGreen for the rebuilding of Greensburg have been announced. The first place winner is a design titled “Meadowlark House” by Steven Learner. This is one of the few designs that all 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 [...]
The Gift of Building
Some friends of ours recently had a baby. When imagining the perfect gift for our new dear young friend, Kevin and I thought about what we enjoyed most when we were children. We both had the same answer: building blocks. I suppose this is no surprise given that he is a contractor and I am [...]
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 weekly [...]
