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Oregon-based Ideabox has been on the prefab scene doing their thing in the Pacific Northwest for a long time now. I’ve mentioned several of their homes and look forward to sharing a few newsworthy articles here in the next couple months. As a preview, I thought I’d share a new design of the company — the Minibox. It’s a 200 square-foot tiny house with a kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom/living area. It’ll have IKEA cabinets and fixtures, energy-efficient appliances, and Energy Star windows. More soon …
Xero Flor is a lightweight green roof and system originally developed in Germany. A version was first supplied to Ford’s Dearborn Truck Plant by Xero Flor America LLC, the exclusive manufacturer and distributor here in the states, and now the company’s announcing Cradle to Cradle Silver for the technology.
I’m fascinated by the work of Netherlands-based Dave Hakkens in a recent project called “Rubble Floor.” Interested in reusing old building materials as new building materials — and inspired by terrazzo floors — Hakkens conducted several tests on materials such as roof tiles, bricks, nails and screws, and glass. He used concrete as the binder and crushed old materials into pigments and fillers. In the end, Hakkens found it’s entirely possible to make new materials with the old.
Traditional home styles plus a net-zero building standard is a winning combination in the Homes at North Pointe development in Frederick, Maryland.
North Pointe was a dormant development whose design pattern was set when developer NEXUS EnergyHomes, Inc., adopted the project. Nexus took the existing set of plans for the project adjacent to Frederick’s historic district and proceeded to “energize” them, according to Mike Murphy, president of Nexus’ construction division, in order to achieve NAHB’s Emerald certification and reach the net-zero goal.
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