Green Building : Jetson Green

Blu Homes Acquires Iconic MKD Designs

Today, Blu Homes and Michelle Kaufmann announced that Blu Homes has purchased all the assets of mkDesigns, including the rights to several Michelle Kaufmann Designs (MKD) homes, such as the Glidehouse, Breezehouse, mkLotus, and mkSolaire.*  With the news, Michelle Kaufmann has joined the advisory board of Blu Homes and will consult the company in applying the MKD designs to Blu Homes' fold out modular technology.  Michelle will also start her new practice, Michelle Kaufmann Studio, where she will focus on custom, net-zero energy homes, sustainable communities, and eco resorts. 

Sneak Peek: Ideabox Fortino Prefab

Update 10/29/09: The Fortino Modern Green Prefab Debuts!

Salem, Oregon based Ideabox has been creating some buzz lately with their new home design, the Fortino, which will be revealed at the Seattle Home Show 2, October 22-25, 2009, at Qwest Field.  After a little coaxing, Ideabox was kind enough to let us see these renderings and a floor plan in anticipation of the big event.  Fortino will include 1,250 square-feet of loft-like living shared between two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a kitchen, dining room, and living room. 

A Solar-Powered Green Microhouse

Hot on the heels of our prior coverage of the Rainscreen Shed and the International Shed of the Year comes this solar-powered beauty, the Microhouse.  According to Naomi Seldin of Simpler Living, the 100 square-foot tiny house is part of the Human = Landscape exhibit going on in City Hall Park in Burlington, Vermont.  The Microhouse was built by Alex Carver and Christopher North of Northern Timbers Construction with the design help of landscape architect and metal artist H. Keith Wagner. 

Über Green Prefab Portable Classrooms

The portable classroom is just about as ubiquitous as the mobile home, so our ears perked when Toby Long, principal of Clever Homes and Toby Long Design, mentioned these first-generation, prefab, green portable classrooms.  Working with the Chartwell School in Seaside, California -- itself the first LEED Platinum campus in the country -- Toby Long Design designed, fabricated, and installed two relocatable classroom structures on the Chartwell campus.  Almost incredibly, the on-site work only took about four weeks. 

St. Paul Home Created with Three Boxes

All the prefab enthusiasts need to make sure to check out this Hive Modular home in St. Paul's historic Capitol Heights neighborhood.  The home and its owner, David Schmit, were profiled in Midwest Home, and the article provides an interesting glimpse into getting a prefab built.  Schmit bought the lot, sold his home, worked with Hive Modular on the design, worked with the local architectural planning board to get approvals, and finally worked with the city of St. Paul to get approvals.  It took some time and patience, too.

Green Container House in Houston

Some of you may be tired of container homes, but this one, the Cordell House, is too interesting not to talk about.  Designed by Christopher Robertson and developed by Numen Development, L.P., it's a 1,858 square-foot pad with three bedrooms and three bathrooms.  And in addition to being built with a number of green elements (described below), the developer was able to keep construction waste to a minimum with ten contractor trash bags total. 

Finish This Green Prefab Dog House

Blake Schreck of Blicker Design was browsing the internet for the perfect dog house and eventually decided to build something of his own design.  After building these two styles, Schreck decided it would be fun to sell modern dog houses online.  The problem is, he wants to sell green dog houses.  So he emailed us and asks whether the Jetson Green audience has any suggestions for affordable, green materials, whether FSC plywood, recycled HDPE plastic, or otherwise.  What do you think?  Sound off below or at Blicker Design.

Green Simplicity with a Preform Prefab

In Surrey (near Vancouver), Canada, a new prefab company is taking shape.  Preform Construction has a 20,000 square-foot factory for building Predesigned Living Units that have been designed by Tony Robins of AA Robins Architect.  The home featured in this article is made with one unit and includes some of the following green elements:

Modern Prefab Display for Palm Pre

We've talked about Taalman Koch Architecture a number of times previously (specifically with the off-grid itHouse and Three Junipers), and they're making a bit of news with this temporary space for the Palm Pre, which was recently on display at The Americana at Brand in Glendale, California.  The 240 square-foot exhibit had to be built in twelve hours or less, and Taalman Koch was able to get that done using a stripped down version of the itHouse. 

Green Prefab Townhomes Hit Oakland

Prefab multifamily is the new black these days, which is why we’ve been watching startup ZETA Communities with interest.  ZETA, which stands for Zero Energy Technology and Architecture, finished these live/work, net zero energy townhomes in Oakland and has a number of other projects in the works.  The townhomes achieved LEED Platinum certification, a 240 green point rating, and an EPA Indoor airPLUS, the EPA’s highest indoor air rating.  Each home is 1,540 square feet with two bedrooms and a single-car garage.  And they’re packed with some of the following green elements and strategies: