This is the Tiburon Bay House, a stunning LEED Platinum home owned by Helene Marsh in the San Francisco Bay area.  It was designed by Butler Armsden Architects and built by McDonald Construction & Development, Inc., the same company behind a couple other high-profile LEED Platinum homes — the Margarido House and the Hillside House.  Tiburon Bay House replaces a 1,500 square-foot home that was deconstructed by hand with 95% of the material going to reuse or recycling.

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This is a “Granny Annex” in Kent, England, fabricated by in.it.studios in eight weeks. In.it.studios fashioned the backyard prefab with a well-insulated envelope, Canadian Western Red Cedar cladding, a “zero maintenance” living sedum roof, floor to ceiling windows, a sky light in the hallway, an Accoya deck, and other built-ins with PEFC- and FSC-certified woods.

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A while back, I mentioned The Crib, an “enviresponsible shelter” by Broadhurst Architects that can be used as a weekend cabin, backyard office, exercise studio, or guest house — you name it.  Well it’s time for a short update from our last article, if you haven’t already noticed, that a 250 square-foot Crib was built on the grounds of the Strathmore in Bethesda, Maryland.  It’s being used as a visual arts studio, a lab, and a gallery and is open to visitors during certain events and various other times.

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Here’s a beautiful garden studio in Oxford overlooking the Thames River.  The custom and contemporary structure was completed by in.it studios with a special plinth foundation, birch ply interior walls, a green sedum roof, and sustainably harvested timber.  The design allows natural light through bi-folding doors, while insulated walls and a glass-panel heater keep the warmth inside in the winter.  The tiny studio has a bathroom and kitchen for use as a guest house and an extra deck space for entertaining.

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This is the first prefab by Canada-based SMPLy Mod.  The Model 984 was built on an engineered concrete pier foundation and has 984 square feet, two bedrooms, and one bathroom.  The siding is a blend of corrugated steel and concrete board, while the inside is flush with bamboo floors and Kohler and Moen fixtures.  The construct features a 2×10 R38 floor system, 2×6 R22 walls, and an 18″ r50 parallel chord truss roof — all built for a little less than $135,000.  SMPLy Mod is available in the US and Canada.

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