Category Archives: Home Design

Homebuilding Trends: Affordable Housing Shortage Makes Modular, Prefab Homes A Must

From a Smart Cities Dive online opinion article;

Modular Advantage MagazineThe reality, however, is that modular, prefabricated housing can exceed the limitations put upon it by popular conceptions of trailer parks and postwar government housing. Not only are they certainly faster – an important factor in cost, as the cost of land and construction have as much as doubled in some parts of America within the past decade – but also of a higher quality.

Looking toward the expected lifespan of these homes, due to the precision of factory construction and the availability of new materials, some prefab or modular homes have the potential to even outlast traditionally-built, on-site housing.

A far cry from the “prefabs” of the 1950s, modules can be manufactured off-site in factories, in a cutting edge process of designing and building homes that can drive real change in an industry that has seen little change in centuries. Modular manufacturing permits us to get down to a level of detail and robustness that traditional architects, structural engineers and mechanical and electrical engineering consultants do not normally go into.

http://www.modular.org/

To read more: https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/news/affordable-housing-shortage-highlights-the-need-for-construction-to-enter-t/568435/

Innovative Homes: Faye Toogood’s “Beguiling” Design For Cube Haus Architects, London

From the Cube Haus Architects website:

Faye Toogood Design for Cube Haus ArchitectsMost notable is Toogood’s sensitive approach to materials. She offers two different, equally alluring solutions to the exterior cladding and the internal finishes. Both external cladding options, raw galvanised steel and dark charred timber, are suggestive of industrial or agricultural structures, making it something of a thrill to see them in a domestic setting. The building clad in raw galvanised steel will have a refined, cream-coloured interior, whilst the structure clad in dark charred timber will have an exposed plywood interior finish.

Faye Toogood’s beguiling design for Cube Haus Commissions proposes a sanctuary that suits both rural and urban contexts. With a simple pitched-roof, single-storey form, it evokes the sort of ordinary, often-ignored buildings that have been built across Britain for centuries. But this being the work of Toogood, a revered designer across multiple disciplines, the scheme that she has created is far from being artless.

Website: https://www.cube-haus.co.uk/project/faye-toogood

Future Of Housing: Two-Bedroom “Kingfisher Tiny House” From “Build Tiny”

Build Tiny New ZealandThis model is going to be completely off-grid in its seaside location. On the roof are 6 x Trina 270w Honey Poly Module panels. A storage box over the tow bar stores the inverter and 4 x C&D 12V 192Ah c20 FT Lead Carbon Cyclic Batteries that will power the home. A new feature in this home (requested by the client) was a folding shelf in the bathroom above the toilet.

This can be lifted up to store clean clothes etc while showering. The bookshelves and lift-up cubby storage in the loft are super practical, as is the tall wardrobe, and walking platform which allows you to stand comfortably in the loft. 

Kingfisher Tiny House interior diagram

Website: https://www.buildtiny.co.nz/kingfisher-tiny-house

Top Architecture Books: “Atlas of Mid-Century Modern Houses” By Dominic Bradbury (2019)

From an Architectural Digest online review:

Atlas of Mid-Century Modern Houses 2019“If one imagines a list of the greatest, most influential houses of the twentieth century, it seems highly likely that the mid-century period will dominate,” writes Bradbury in the book’s introduction, going on to name such famous edifices as the three famous glass houses by Philip Johnson, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Lino Bo Bardi, respectively; Richard Neutra’s Kaufmann House; and Luis Barragán’s Cuadra San Cristóbal. “One could, of course, go on.…” he writes.

In the design world, is there any style that’s having more of a Renaissance moment than midcentury modern? It’s everywhere, from luxury hotels to high-end residential interiors to mainstream furniture lines from the likes of CB2 and Anthropologie, and it’s showing little sign of slowing down. In the midst of this revival, writer Dominic Bradbury, who has contributed to Architectural Digest, has compiled what might just be one of the most comprehensive books ever to be published on the subject.

To read more: https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/atlas-of-mid-century-modern-houses

 

Housing Trends: “Timberlake Denali 39′ Park Model” Tiny Home

2019 Timbercraft Denali 39ft Custom Tiny Home by Timbercraft Tiny Homes.

  • PARK MODEL TINY HOME
  • INTENDED TO BE DELIVERED AND SET UP SEMI-PERMANENT
  • OVERSIZE, NEED PERMITS TO TRANSPORT
  • PERMANENT STYLE HOOKUPS
  • GENERALLY 320-399 SQ FT
  • MAIN FLOOR BEDROOMS AVAILABLE
  • ANSI 119.5 CERTIFIED
  • 21 YR MORTGAGES AVAILABLE

Website: https://timbercrafttinyhomes.com/park-model-tiny-homes-now-available/

Top New Remodel Books: “The Home Upgrade” Edited By Gestalten (2019)

The Home Upgrade GestaltenThe Home Upgrade looks beyond big budget projects and explores homes where the seemingly impossible has been achieved. For architects striking out on their own, such projects offer the opportunity to flex their muscles and lead a project for the first time. A home in Brooklyn, featured in the book, was refurbished after Hurricane Sandy ravaged the Eastern Seaboard in 2012. The living space was raised above the high-water line, an answer to the grim fact that once-in-a-generation occurrences are a new reality.

Historic conversions celebrate the unexpected relationship between old and new, and adaptive reuse projects reinvent the buildings around us. Exploring the most extraordinary transformations of recent years by leading studios, The Home Upgrade is an exhilarating look at the boundless possibilities of reimagining a home.

Website: https://us.gestalten.com/products/home-upgrade?utm_source=Gestalten+Standard+Newsletter&utm_campaign=ba394937b0-COVARC2+REGLAM+HIKUS+KINARCO+US&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_280558bba4-ba394937b0-3992541&mc_cid=ba394937b0&mc_eid=d0c83e52f7

Future Of Homebuilding: Prefab “Sunset BUD LivingHome” By Douglas W. Burdge Architects

From a PlantPrefab.com online review:

Douglas W. Burdge - Sunset BUD LivingHomeThe idea for this ADU was conceived in the wake of the 2018 Woolsey Fire, as a way to help families reinhabit their properties while rebuilding their primary residence. All “BUD” designs provide beautiful living spaces that can be delivered quickly and enjoyed for generations as a valuable addition to almost any property.

Burdge Architects
https://www.buaia.com/

This innovative accessory dwelling unit (ADU) offers four different size and layout options to fit almost any property. From a compact studio, to a two-bed, two-bath home with garage, all configurations meet California ADU size allowances and are designed for fast and efficient prefabrication at Plant.

To read more: https://www.plantprefab.com/models/19

Future Of Homebuilding: “Makatita” By Liberté Tiny Houses “Maximizes Light”

From a Dwell.com online review:
Nature dictates the shape and materials of this Dutch cabin in the woods.

When Willeke Makatita approached Gijsbert Schutten and Gijs Coumou of Liberte Tiny Houses, she had one very specific request: a compact dwelling that would let her simplify her life and live as close to nature as possible. “Willeke loves walking, camping, and bushcraft,” Schutten says. “She asked for a home that would suit those passions.” 

Website: https://libertetinyhouses.nl/nl_NL/tiny-house-makatita

To read more: https://www.dwell.com/article/makatita-liberte-tiny-houses-15bab0da?utm_medium=email&utm_source=postup&utm_campaign=&list=1

Homebuilding Trends: “Squirrel Park” Homes In Oklahoma Built From Used Shipping Containers

From a Dezeen.com online review:

Squirrel Park Smith Design CompanyTwo containers make up the ground floor of each house, with two more cantilevered three metres over one end to create a sheltered porch below and a first-floor terrace off the master bedroom.

Oklahoma has a hot climate, so the steel containers have been painted white to reduce heat gain, while mirrored strips reflect the sun’s glare.

Squirrel Park Smith Design CompanySquirrel Park is a scheme of four houses made from converted shipping containers in Oklahoma City, USA, by Allford Hall Monaghan MorrisBuilt for a developer client who plans to live in one of the properties, Squirrel Park has four two-bedroom homes on a 2,500-square-metre site.

https://smithdesigncompany.com/squirrel-park/6y6kpxgw1o63uvt09y8viifgw7mj5q

A total of 16 lightly used steel shipping containers – which had “been around the world once” according to AHHM – were used to make the four houses. The three family homes not occupied by the developer will be rented at “competitive market rates”.

To read more: https://www.dezeen.com/2019/11/20/squirrel-park-ahmm-shipping-container-housing-oklahoma/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20Dezeen&utm_content=Daily%20Dezeen+CID_edb46f16e2683f4b06c3c31148e551ac&utm_source=Dezeen%20Mail&utm_term=AHMM%20unveils%20shipping-container%20housing%20development%20in%20Oklahoma

Future Of Homebuilding: “Cork House” By Matthew Barnett Howland (2019)

From Architect Matthew Barnett Howland website:

Matthew Barnett Howland Cork HouseCork House embodies a strong whole life approach to sustainability, from resource through to end-of-life.  Expanded cork is a pure bio-material made with waste from cork forestry.  The bark of the cork oak is harvested by hand every nine years without harming the tree or disturbing the forest.  Matthew Barnett Howland Cork HouseThis gentle agro-industry sustains the Mediterranean cork oak landscapes, providing a rich biodiverse habitat that is widely recognised. This compelling ecological origin of expanded cork is mirrored at the opposite end of the building’s lifecycle.  The construction system is dry-jointed, so that all 1,268 blocks of cork can be reclaimed at end-of-building-life for re-use, recycling, or returning to the biosphere.

Completed in 2019, Cork House was designed by Matthew Barnett Howland with Dido Milne and Oliver Wilton.

Cork House is a brand new and radically simple form of plant-based construction.  Monolithic walls and corbelled roofs are made almost entirely from solid load-bearing cork.  This highly innovative self-build construction kit is designed for disassembly, is carbon-negative at completion and has exceptionally low whole life carbon.

To read more: https://www.matthewbarnetthowland.com/