Laneway houses, like this one on 19th and Slocan, seem to flourish in Vancouver. This is another contemporary, small home by Lanefab, which is the firm behind the Mendoza and Net-Zero Solar laneway houses. The 800 square-foot home (including a 200 square-foot flex-garage) shelters a young couple that built the property on their parent’s property — an intergenerational phenomenon made possible with flexible laneway zoning.
It’s been a couple years since we last checked in on the work of Seattle-based FabCab, a company that makes prefab and kit-built, eco-friendly homes and accessory dwelling units. Short for “fabulous cabin,” FabCab has several timber-frame houses under construction in Washington and recently shared photos of this two-level cabin on Camano Island. It has a timber frame, SIP panels, and a soaring water-front wall of windows.
When I mentioned a project by students aiming to build the greenest house in Canada (by means of the Living Building Challenge and LEED Platinum certification), I noted that students planned to use “prefabricated straw bale walls.” It turns out they finished this portion of the project using BioSIPs from NatureBuilt Wall Systems in Ontario, Canada.
As of today, the first house designed and built to the Passivhaus standard in Arlington is now on the market. The million-dollar home — referred to as the Arlington Passivhaus — was built by Southern Exposure Homes, a builder run by brothers Eric and Roger Lin, with an emphasis on airtightness and energy efficiency. But there’s also a 700-square-foot green roof, contemporary interior finishes, and landscape that reduces stormwater runoff.
I’ve seen a ton of interest in these panel-built structures by Sett Studio, so I thought it’d be appropriate to share a short video for your viewing pleasure. In the video, these Austin-based builders share details of the construction, materials, and installation of a typical Sett Studio. Mike Speciale of Sett Studio also talks about why they use SIP construction and how they’ve tweaked shou-sugi-ban to treat their siding. For the pretty photos, check the original Sett and the twin Setts.
Project Profiles
