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.
I think you’ll agree that this Residence for a Briard is quite the home. As a custom-built, architect-designed residence of this size, the owners seem to have made out quite well, in California terms. The completed cost was $500k, or $130 psf. Here are a few more materials and strategies that help make this Culver City prefab green:
- Rental unit increases density
- Proximate to public transportation
- Basic amenities in walking distance
- Site orientation maximizes passive heating and cooling
- Extensive glazing maximizes natural day lighting
- Multi-cell acrylic panels with high R-value reduce heat gain
- Recycled steel framing reduces overall costs and use of new steel
- Low-water and xeriscape landscaping and plants
- Sustainable kitchen and bathroom cabinetry
- On-demand water heater
- Radiant heat connected to on-demand hot water
- Low-flush toilets and Energy Star appliances
- Low-VOC paints
Photo credits: Sander Architects.
Esposed cavity insulation?
Denim good?
Exposed (not enclosed on 4 sides) bad!
Thermally bridged by framing? Bad too!
Okay, they’ve made some trade offs, but it’s still an interesting house and case study.