Prefabulous + Almost Off The Grid by Sheri Koones - Abrams

Prefabulous

+ Almost

off the grid

Y o u r Pat h t o B u i l d i n g a n E n e r g y- I n d e p e n d e n t H o m e

Sheri Koones

Foreword by

Robert Redford

New England Farmhouse

This contemporarily built house fits in perfectly with the historical neighborhood.

Panelized

GRE EN ASPECTS:

EN ER GY ASPECTS:

PH OTOGR AP H ER :

Low-flow faucets

Spray foam insulation—open cell

Eric Roth (unless otherwise noted)

Dual-flush toilets

Passive solar orientation

PR OJ EC T AR C H I T E C T:

Metal roof

Stone flooring (thermal mass)

Stephen Haskell, Connor Homes

Modest footprint

Interior windows

G R EEN AR C H I TECT:

Flexible space

Daylighting (skylights and clerestory windows)

Stephanie Horowitz

Reclaimed wood flooring

Ceiling fans

Zero Energy Design

Recycled brick patio

Cooling chimney

BUI L D ER :

Salvaged kitchen cabinetry

Radiant heating and cooling

Aedi Construction

FSC-certified wood

High-performance windows

Heat recovery ventilator (HRV)

Exterior rigid insulation

Allergy-free native plantings

ENERGY STAR–rated appliances

No-VOC paints and finishes

ENERGY STAR–rated lighting

HEPA whole-house filtration system

Wired for future photovoltaic and solar thermal panels

I N TER I OR D ES I GN E R :

Lisa Kauffman Tharp LOC ATI ON:

Concord, Massachusetts

Fiber cement siding

SI ZE:

2,700 square feet HER S R ATI NG:

50

CER TI F I C ATI ON:

ENERGY STAR

Exercise Mud Room

THIRD FLOOR Kitchen

Living room

Entry

Bathroom

Bedroom #2

Hall

Bath

Closet

Bedroom #3

Away room

Covered porch

FIRST FLOOR

28

SECOND FLOOR

New England Farmhouse

Dining room

Master bathroom

Master bedroom

29

BELOW

The space-saving bed alcove provides a cozy sleeping nook, while

leaving most of the square footage available for full use during the day.

OPPOSITE

All appliances in the kitchen are ENERGY STAR in order to limit

energy use. Larger windows on this southern side of the house flood the

New England Farmhouse

New England Farmhouse

interior with sun. Skylights were added for additional daylighting.

32

33

Superb-A House Panelized

GREEN AS P E CTS:

EN ER GY ASPECTS:

PH OTOGR AP H ER :

No paint, no tiles, no carpet

LED lights

Art Gray

Separate carport

Natural ventilation (no air-conditioning),

A R C H I TEC T:

Cooling pond with accent of recycled glass

MINARC

RUBBiSH (recycled rubber sinks; see sidebar)

Radiant floor heating

MANU FAC TU R ER :

Eco-smart fire

Passive solar orientation

mnm.MOD

Native vegetation garden (no water consumption)

Solar thermal panels

Recycled rubber finish on kitchen cabinets and 

Thermally broken panel system

BUI L D ER :

Core Construction LOC ATI ON:

Venice, California

including cross-ventilation

Hide-n-Sit disappearing island chairs

Thermally broken windows and doors

Dual-flush toilets

Energy-efficient appliances

Materials used in their organic form whenever  possible

SI ZE:

Hall Music Studio

Closet

Bedroom

Bathroom

Covered Veranda

2,400 square feet

Terrace

Jewelry Studio

_001 need caption

The exterior siding is made of concrete panels

and certified cedar.

Bathroom

OPPOSITE

Carport

Laundry

ABOVE

SECOND FLOOR

Kitchen Veranda

Living room

Family room

Entry Guest room

Bathroom

FIRST FLOOR

54

Superb-A House

Pond

55

The landscaping of the house includes only local plantings. Herbs are located close to the barbecue area so that they can be used while cooking outdoors.

L

ess is more” is the general philosophy of archi-

materials; so instead of using tile in the bathrooms

tectural and marriage partners Erla Dogg Ing-

over concrete, and then grout, they used concrete

jaldsdottir and Tryggvi Thorsteinsson. What

on the walls without embellishment. Whenever pos-

are the chances that two students from Iceland

sible, materials were left in their natural state. All

would meet at an architectural college in California?

lighting is LED to minimize energy use and to adhere

But these two did, and for ten years, they have been

to their quest to use materials that will last as long

designing houses that reflect their vision of the natu-

as possible.

ral aesthetic of Iceland. Since it is an island where everything needs to be imported, natives are more

NATURAL HEATING AND COOLING

likely to recycle materials and use ones that will last

Erla and Tryggvi say their designs are “not about cre-

longer.

ating energy but saving energy.” No air-conditioning

Erla and Tryggvi believe that materials are

system was installed in the house. Cooling is achieved

beautiful in their natural state, so they avoid layer-

through the passive orientation of the house, lots of

ing materials unnecessarily. They also believe homes

windows for natural cross-ventilation, and a cooling

should be built requiring minimal energy, with very

pond, which serves to cool the air before it enters

energy-efficient envelopes. Erla and Tryggvi say

the house. “Night flush cooling” is one of the energy-

people work too hard to make things beautiful, when

saving features. This takes advantage of the tem-

they are already beautiful. Instead of adding paint

perature swings that occur over a twenty-four-hour

to a skim-coated wall, it is left in its natural state,

period in California. Window openings placed close

without paint and other embellishment, which they

to the floor draw cool night air into the house, and

say looks good and conserves materials, energy, and

exhaust openings near the ceiling draw warmer air

waste.

out into the night.

When asked to design a modern, very energy-

Radiant floor heating is used on cool days, and

efficient house for clients in Venice, California, it was

the water for the system is heated by solar hot water

an opportunity for Erla and Tryggvi to employ many

panels on the roof. Lots of mass in the floors and

of the techniques they’d developed over the years.

walls create thermal mass, which aids in the heating

By limiting the use of materials and conserving

and cooling of the structure.

energy, they say they are able to design a beautiful house that will cost less than a typical house and will

PREFAB CONSTRUCTION

be less costly to maintain.

All of the parts of the house were built in a factory,

Superb-A House

with walls precut, predrilled, and numbered for easy

56

WHAT THE HOUSE DOESN’T HAVE

assembly on-site. Erla and Tryggvi developed and

Erla and Tryggvi say, “It is not what the building has,

patented a panelized system with metal structural

it is what the building does not need.” The Superb-A

members and insulation calculated to meet the

House was built using no paint, no tile, no carpet, and

energy requirements at the various exposures of the

no traditional HVAC system. They avoided layering

house. The walls are designed with thermal breaks so

ART House Modular PH OTOGR AP H ER :

Philip Jensen Carter A R C H I TEC T:

J. B. Clancy Albert, Righter & Tittmann Architects

OPPOSITE LEFT

missing caption for _003

OPPOSITE RIGHT

One of the boxes is lifted with the crane and set to

help form the second floor.

GREEN ASPECTS:

EN ER GY ASPECTS:

Low-flow faucets and showerheads

Passive solar orientation

BELOW

Salvaged materials

Solar hot water system

avoid heat loss. The wide porch serves to prevent hot sun from

Permeable paving

Daylighting

entering the house in the summer. The house’s exterior is made from

Close to town

Triple-pane windows (see sidebar)

High-density location

Heat recovery ventilator (HRV)

The north side of the house has the fewest windows, to

fiber cement siding.

Cellulose insulation

E NER GY CONS ULTA N T:

Spray foam insulation—closed cell

Peter Scheider

Air-source heat pump

Vermont Energy Investment Corporation

ENERGY STAR rated appliances

MANU FAC TU R ER :

Soil heat exchange system

Preferred Building Systems

Energy monitoring system

BUI L D ER :

LED and CFL lighting

Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity

Insulating shades

LOC ATI ON:

Charlotte, Vermont SI ZE:

1,350 square feet HER S R ATI NG:

35

BLOWER D OOR TE ST:

0.40 ACH @ 50

Pascals Certification: Passive House ENERGY STAR

Bath Laundry

Bath Stair

Master bedroom Entry Mechanical Bedroom

Bedroom

174

Living room

FIRST FLOOR

SECOND FLOOR

ART House

FOUNDATION

Kitchen

Playroom

Front porch

Dining

175