Green Building Blog - Jetson Green

Entrepreneurs to Sell Shipping Container Homes Below $10k

Okay, I'll admit it, I have a slight interest in container housing and am intrigued by the possibility of reusing containers for, among other things, affordable housing.  This weekend, I'll be bringing you news of a pretty high-end container home, but these homes are equally important at the opposite end of the economic spectrum.  Here's the story: A handful of entrepreneurs nurtured a graduate school business plan into an actual company called PFNC Global Communities.  The acronym stands for "por fin, nuestra casa," which is translated as "finally, a home of our own."  PFNC's purpose is to convert shipping containers into affordable housing for those who most desperately need it around the globe.

Yale Grad Student's Off-Grid Tiny House

Elizabeth Turnbull was planning for Yale grad school and started estimating her future living expenses.  As an incoming Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies student, Elizabeth calculated that she would spend ~$14,000 over two years of school and wanted to do something effective with that money.  So she channeled a little inspiration from Tumbleweed Tiny House Co. and decided to build her own tiny home as economically as possible.  So far, she's made incredible progress building the 8' x 18' modish home on a flatbed trailer.  By the time she's done, the off-grid home will price out just over $11,000 or so.  And it's surprisingly spacious inside, too. 

GreenMobile®, the Anticipated Update!

Back in January of this year, I posted an article about the stylish, affordable GreenMobile® design by Mississippi State University Professor Michael Berk.  Since that time, I've received countless emails and a few comments (aside: why do readers email rather than comment?) asking when the GreenMobile® would be available for purchase.  So I've come to realize that people, including myself, really want to buy a GreenMobile.  I mean, it's kind of cool.  The demand for affordable, modern living is really quite incredible (see: 100k House, e-House, Make It Right, etc).  But the long and short is, I emailed Professor Berk and he was nice enough to extensively respond via the below email, which I've edited slightly for formatting. 

E-House Prefab Gets Green, Affordable

Aaron Newman shot me a link to an article in the South Florida Business Journal about his company, Envision Prefab.  Unfortunately, the article is behind a $$ wall, but this jpeg isn't.  Envision Prefab has a simple concept that involves containers.  I know we've been talking a lot about containers in the past week, but the idea here is to convert cargo containers into affordable housing.  Envision has models in the works in West Palm Beach and in Miami, with their first model expected in early September 2008.  Envision models range in size from 740 sf to 1300 sf and are expected to price out at ~$150 psf.

Wentworth Commons Sets Standard for Green, Low Income Housing

Wentworth Commons is a 51-unit, 65,800 sf affordable housing complex in Chicago's Roseland neighborhood.  As a home for at-risk and formerly homeless families and individuals, Wentworth Commons has been recognized for its trendy aesthetics and functional green design.  The $13 million project has a slew of green features, including a 33 kWh PV system that provides 25% of the building's power, a hyper efficient mechanical system, extensive use of locally sourced materials and rapidly renewable materials, and native plantings and bio-swale to reduce storm water runoff. 

Innovative Abōd Takes Small Project Award

The fulcrum of the green building revolution, I think, is conservation and living happily with less.  It'll be interesting to see how we get there, to see if we can live lighter.  In the meantime, I like to monitor small projects to see what piques the interest of crowds.  Lately Abōd® has been getting some quality attention.  Abōd was honored by the AIA this year with a Small Project Award.  The AIA explained the concept: "The design goal was to develop a breakthrough in value-engineered lowest cost housing with an extensive array of add-on options to personalize each home. The resulting design incorporating the Catenary arch is simple and structurally sound but also aesthetically pleasing and can be built by 4 people in just one day with only a screwdriver and an awl."

Holy Cross Project Show House Now a Reality [NOLA]

We talked about renderings and plans for the Holy Cross Project back in August last year, but it's now becoming a reality.  The first home is finished and Global Green plans to open it to the public this coming May.  When finished, the entire project will have four more homes and a 18-unit apartment complex -- all of it low-income and green, too.  Global Green is shooting for LEED Platinum on everything and expects homes to use 75% less energy than a similar, typical building. 

100K House, Unleashing the Modern Green Virus!

I've been following the 100k House Project since the beginning and I'm completely sucked into the process.  It's a simple concept: low cost, modern, and green -- something all houses should be.  Today, they posted all new renderings with James Hardie Vertical Panel siding in various shades of gray.  The new renderings present an entirely different look and feel that's incredible.  Chad, I'm giving you major props on this one.  Interface Studio Architects is right on with that look.  I just wish I could buy one of them!

++New Renderings with Hardie and Stucco Siding [100k]

Project H Design, Put Your Name on a Hippo Roller

I just want to take a quick second to plug a good cause and introduce you to Project H Design, if you haven't already heard of it.  Project H Design was founded by the talented Emily Pilloton, Managing Editor of Inhabitat, as a charitable organization that supports, inspires, and delivers product design initiatives for Humanity, Habitats, Health, and Happiness.  Right now, Project H Design is working on a case study with Hippo Roller.  As you can tell from the image above, Hippo Roller is an incredible, affordable rolling water transport device that makes it easier for developing communities to fetch water more safely and efficiently.  Here in the U.S., we're trying to use less water, while in communities in Northeastern South Africa, people are just trying to get enough water to survive.  That's where you and I can help. 

Project H Design is raising $5,000 asap to purchase 50 Hippo Rollers for delivery to Kgautswane.  You can sponsor one roller for $100, buy 5 for a locality, or buy 10 for a whole community.  Donations are tax deductible.

Crossroads, First Green Homeless Shelter

There's an excellent article in NY Times on what's believed to be the first green homeless shelter in the country.  It's an extraordinary $11 M shelter.  Homeless shelters usually operate out of an old warehouse or derelict building, but this place, Crossroads, is different.  It's a reality primarily as a result of the tenacity of Wendy Jackson, executive director of the East Oakland Community Project of Alameda County.  After seven long years and lots of hard work, Jackson was able to make it happen.  The newly finished, modern building accommodates 125 residents.