Green Building Blog - Jetson Green

Green Trailer Maxes Out Sustainability

This is the McCownGordon Construction Green Trailer.  Pretty nice, right?!  It was designed to use a fraction of the energy typically used by jobsite trailers and still provides a modern user experience on the inside.  The interesting thing about this trailer is that it was designed using Autodesk Revit to get everything just right: the panels were placed at the best angle to capture energy and clear overpasses, the composting toilet was modeled to show exterior vents, and the interior was modeled to perfect the wood patterns and overall design.  Plus, according to Brad Hardin, BIM Director for the company, this jobsite trailer is positive energy!

Off-Grid Emergency Response Studio

I'm completely fascinated by this Emergency Response Studio.  The gist is that Paul Villinski created a solar-powered, mobile artist's studio from an old FEMA-style trailer -- it's off-grid, sustainable, and an excellent example of eco-reuse.  But there's more.  According to an article in the LA Times, apparently Villinski tried to buy one of the 143,123 FEMA trailers purchased by the government in the aftermath of Katrina, that is, until the government stopped selling them and began buying them back due to formaldehyde fumes from glues used to secure rugs, plywood, and other fixtures.  So he bought this one for $5,015 from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife through a GAO auction.  And after getting rid of the nesting rodents, he cleaned it up and pimped it out for an exhibit called Prospect .1 New Orleans starting early November 2008. 

Green Hybrid Residence for a Briard

Designed by Sander Architects, this part prefab, all custom-made home was recently profiled in the NY Times in an article entitled "Prefab, High-Concept, and Green."  The exposed denim insulation and loft-like interior caught my eye, so I decided to learn more about it.  Apparently, the owners retained Sander Architects to build something that was very green, on a super-tight budget, and amenable to the owner's large French Briard dog.  The resulting 4,200 sf home, according to the architects, is their greenest Hybrid House ever built.  It features a greywater system, passive heating and cooling, rainwater collection for landscaping, recycled blue jean insulation, sunflower seed wall board, bamboo flooring, marmoleum, structural steel frames from recycled steel, etc. 

mkHearth, an Eco Modern Farmhouse

Today Michelle Kaufmann announced and released details of mkDesign's newest modular design, a modern farmhouse home called mkHearth.  I like the rendering above because it illustrates how an entire neighborhood of modern, green, mkHearth homes could look ... imagine plush gardens in lieu of turf, home fronts instead of garages, and greenroofs in the place of shingles.  The mkHearth centers on a hearth space where a cabinetry / fireplace unit extends and connects the first through third floors. 

Ideabox Debuts Green Prefab Island Cottage at Seattle Home Show

The Seattle Home Show opens its doors today at Qwest Field and ideabox will be debuting a brand new design called the Island Cottage.  The 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 625 square-foot home was designed as a recreational cottage for places like the San Juan Islands, a home for small footprint urban infill, or an ancillary living space for an accessory dwelling unit.  Like all ideabox models, the Island Cottage is certified by Energy Star and Earth Advantage programs -- all materials are selected for resource efficiency and performance. 

Blu Homes Moving Forward with Modern, Green, and Affordable Homes

When we first brought news of Blu Homes in July, the company was on the cusp of something interesting.  Since our first article, they've been busy with plans to design and build innovative, sustainable homes.  They've also been crunching the numbers and working on ways to design and build prefab homes that are legitimately affordable.  And with all the talk recently about prefab and affordability, we thought it'd be interesting to revisit a couple development projects of Blu Homes.  They have two homes in the pipeline that, I think, illustrate the case for affordable, modern, and green homes.

GreenPod Offers Full-Circle Home Design

GreenPod, a company run by architect and environmentalist Ann Raab, designs and builds compact modular homes that are sustainable, healthy, and energy efficient.  The amazing thing about this company is their full-circle design approach, which aims to help clients create a complete green home right down to their bathroom towels and artwork. 

Three Junipers Off-Grid itHouse Project

Earlier this year, we mentioned the high desert, off-grid itHouse by Taalman Koch Architecture and readers loved it.  Now, Taalman Koch has launched their new itHouse website and announced news of their Three Junipers development project.  Three Junipers is a planned community that will have three, 5-acre properties for pre-sale.  The properties come with a building pad, foundation, and plans for a 1600 sf, 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom itHouse.  At Three Junipers, itHouses will be off-grid and powered by both solar PV and solar thermal systems.  Plans include a Poliform chefs kitchen, covered dining patio, outdoor solar heated Plunge pool, suspended indoor Fireorb fireplace, outdoor courtyards with fireplaces, and covered 2 car carports. 

A Clean Break: Philly Prefab Exhibit

In conjunction with Design Philadelphia and National Design Week 2008, Minima Gallery in Philadelphia is hosting a prefab exhibition titled A Clean Break from October 17-30.  The purpose of this event is to promote "clean development -- aesthetically and ecologically."  The exhibit is described as an "exhibition of modern prefab architecture and high-design, low-waste innovations for the urban environment."  Pretty cool.

Six Prefabricated Passive House, Zero Energy Designs

Kjellgren Kaminsky Architects have designed six new passive house designs for presentation at the Stockholm Housing Fair occurring October 9-12, 2008.  Presented in collaboration with Emrahus, these prefabricated, zero energy designs present a compelling concept for what is possible with good design and conscious materials.  Passive houses, using the definition of KKA on their website, "are extremely well-insulated buildings that are largely heated by the energy already present in the building."  Passive homes attempt to rely as little as possible on extra mechanical systems -- they conserve first and foremost.  Scroll through these six passive home designs and leave a vote for your fave: