Modular Homes Green

[mella l]

http://www.mkd-arc.com/homes/



Michelle Kaufman Homes are so very lovely, however the business is going down due to the tightening of banking funds, if I understand all the press I've read. Money is tight for these one off homes.

Green homes simply designed, built out of green sustainable materials.

The Breeze house and the Glidehouse would be lovely in Hawaii in my mind. A huge modular home factory would put people to work and help the environment. There are so many vacant mfg building around the country.

Perhaps Glen you might get the government involved to set up this modular home business into an abandoned auto mfg plant. Put a few people to work and help america downsize in style while being green all the while.

mella l

[Liz]

Hi Mella!

It's funny you posted these today... We've been looking at floor plans and came across this site yesterday. We really liked the Glidehouse & Breezehouse too! (Great minds and all that... ) ;-)

Seems like they would be quite suitable here, open and simple design.



aloha, Liz

"The best things in life aren't things."

[ric]

The houses look neat, but . . .

Why would anyone build a 'huge factory', when business is going down?

Oh, 'get the government involved'.

Again, neat houses, but the rest of this just escapes me.

[mella l]

Hi Liz,

Yes I thought it would be nice and breezy, the Lotus design is good also. My body wants downsizing, so more time to play!

ric

The factories wouldn't have to be built they are already built and rusting and sitting empty. The mfg plants could be used for green building of sensible modular homes, and put some people to work. Jobs are needed and homes will be needed also.

Well we could pay unemployment benefits to people, or we could retrain them to build homes and pay them at the same time. Didn't mean to make this into a political sore point you know. Just conversation. The business is going down because money is so tight and suppliers are having problems getting credit nes paus?

mella l

[mikewj]

From a design standpoint MKD homes are interesting. However they do not appear to be in any way suitable for the warmer, wetter parts of Hawaii. Small overhangs, many flat roofs, exposed decks and large unshaded windows speak to me of design for a mainland urban landscape. Unless they could be quantity manufactured in a factory setting, they appear also not to be particularly cost effective. At a cost of $200 - $300 per square foot plus shipping and foundation costs, I believe that one could have a custom home designed for your site at a comparable price. that said, they might very well be comfortable at a higher, cooler, dryer elevation - maybe around Parker Ranch?

Much of the best tropical housing is being designed in Australia, but again I found that even if one could find a company willing to ship to Hawaii, the costs pretty much outweighed the benefits.

It appears at the moment that if one wants something other than a mainland style small tract house, or is willing to totally rebuild and modify an old plantation house, the only option is to do some research into your site, (prevailing wind direction, temperature, rainfall and terrain) then talk with a local architect or designer to create a 'one off' that you will love.

Please, someone tell me I'm wrong! I'd love to hear of a cost effective, small, practical and elegant tropical home at a reasonable price!

[Liz]

Sorry, but I think you are right, mikewj.

I like to look at the floorplans of these places though, for ideas on room configurations. Since we would be building our own place we would add huge overhangs, creating lanai areas. Also roof ventilation is important, so no flat roof. We're definitely doing the site research. Building it yourself, provided you have the skills & know-how, is the only way I can think of to getting it down to a reasonable price.

aloha, Liz

"The best things in life aren't things."

[mella l]

Right you are Mike they would need to be re roofed to suit the area and collect rainfall and also as you pointed out larger overhangs to reduce direct sun and help with moisture. It is the footprint, the floor plan that I find very interesting with an open middle in the breezway model.

This business has shuttered it doors so you can't purchase one.

One of the modles has roofing for siding that is very interesting and I rather liked that idea also.

Any Australian sites of homes you like? My last visit I was invited to a home down by the beach, it was a Bali type home lovely and very suitable for the weather and the elevation.

mella l

[waynesb]

I saw an article in the SF Chronicle one recent Sunday about MKd closing. It seems that every time she found a factory to work with, it would close down, and then the money market tightening up just put a fork in it. I walked through a couple of her designs--One at Sunset Magazine's site, and one at West Coast Green in SF. They were very attractive in that angular modern "Dwell" sort of way (not my favorite). Also she never got the economies of scale that would make it cost effective for any but the wealthy.

I did like her take on the master closet, though. Something I'll try to steal.

Mella, at least one of those houses I saw was built in a factory in Oroville.

[mikewj]

Here's a walk through video of MK's Breeze House. As you can see, this is not an inexpensive answer to the problem of shelter, but as an up market home in the appropriate climate I would expect it to be a very comfortable place to live. In this iteration there are many custom add-ons to the basic premise, including wonderful (but mega expensive both for the doors and the additional construction elements to support them)stack back window/door systems. Hold your lottery ticket in one hand and the mouse in the other when you watch this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-NC3O33LQ8

[csgray]

Mikewj,
There is a huge middle ground between rebuilding an old plantation house and all new custom "green construction". We bought a 20 year old house which was average construction for the time, but it was built by a couple who knew what was needed to be comfortable in Hawaii. It is a simple raised ranch with wrap around lanai's, high ceilings, and correct siting for the views and winds. If there is a breath of wind we get it, and the carport under the house gets wonderful convection even when the trades aren't blowing, especially in hottest part of the day. This house didn't utilize any special materials or technology, just sensible design with the place and climate in mind. While not fancy, it is comfortable and affordable. The house next door was built at about the same time and while it wasn't raised as high, it also was built for the climate. It is on the market for under $200,000 as a short sale.

It seems like most of the newest construction was not done with any thought of the site or climate, but you don't have to go all the way back to plantation houses to find a house which works with, instead of against, the environment. And using what is already here has much, much less environmental impact than building new, no matter how "green" the new construction is.

However, I would love to see someone here on the island building modular or portable core units as prefabs that could be brought into a site ready to live in, and then wrap around lanais and sleeping porches added on site. The core units would have all the infrastructure like baths and kitchens and the outer wings would be living spaces. Then people could skip the whole living in a container or a tent while they build part, do the site work while the factory is building your core, bring it into your property, move in and then add on the extra spaces. Most of your work would happen out of the weather and the factory could provide much steadier work than traditional construction. Here the factory could just be a giant covered area.


Carol