Prefab Partners Plan a Cottage Industry
New Era of Small, Energy-Efficient Modular Dwellings By Mary Rothschild Port Townsend architectural and interior designer Ann Raab has overseen construction of homes that have her signature green cachet. But while the houses by Raab’s Olympic Design Group Inc. are stylish and easy on the environment, she keeps hearing two misgivings: that building green is too expensive or that green choices are overwhelming. Her solution? Go modular. She and a cast of collaborators have launched Greenpod Development LLC, determined to enhance affordability by producing small, energy-efficient homes. Prefab architecture is all the rage, a trend so hot that New York’s Museum of Modern Art is readying an exhibit of hightech, high-style modular houses. What has surely helped propel the modular movement is that factory-built housing can take less time to build, cost less, send less waste to the landfill and have a smaller footprint, yet still look unique and handcrafted.
Greenpod Development LLC is determined to enhance affordability by producing small, energy-efficient homes. Here is an example of a modular “Greenpod” dwelling. Plans include 440- to 880-square-foot, one-bedroom, one-bath houses. Photo courtesy of Ann Raab
Raab and company take the concept further. In keeping with the company’s motto, “Intelligent Environments,” Greenpod’s interiors come with a checklist of choices, such as movable walls and dual-function furnishings to make compact seem roomy, plus
The group working with Greenpod dwellings in Jefferson County includes (from left) Jan Hopfenbeck, Teresa Verraes and Ann Raab. Photo by Ross Anderson The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader
nontoxic materials for healthy indoor air quality. So far, designs for the 440- to 880-square-foot, one-bedroom, one-bath Greenpods include three floor plans and four exteriors, contempory or traditional. There’s even a cottage-style houseboat – the NauticaPod – and the other models can “float” on pier foundations, requiring minimal site excavation. “Low impact is our goal,” Raab explains. Raab hopes to wrap lots of good green things in the small packages: graywater recycling, solar power, rainwater collection, roof gardens. Passive-solar design, using high windows and interior glass doors, will save energy naturally, while rigid insulation and LED lighting should also lower energy costs. Raab predicts energy consumption will be “half that of a conventionally built house.” Greenpod partner Suzanne Devall, a fabric designer, is offer-
ing interior textiles free of chemicals, dyes or harmful finishes – everything from bath towels to organic-mattress beds by Mary Cordaro. Buyers can also accessorize with locally produced items “juried for sustainability,” Raab says, to end up with a fully furnished home. A catalog of extras – cabinetry, furniture, art – is being assembled by gallery owner Teresa Verraes, who also manages sales and promotion. Verraes says turning to area artists and tradespeople fulfills another definition of sustainability – creating local jobs. Helping Greenpod navigate the regulatory maze is team member and former city permit coordinator Jan Hopfenbeck. Sam Maynard and Power Trip Energy are collaborating on an off-the-grid pod; Terry Nowell of PT Fabrication is working on the houseboat design; and Cantrell Woodworks is making models of
multi-use cabinets and built-ins. A pod prototype will be displayed next to the Green Design showroom, managed by Teresa Clark, across Rhody Drive from Carl’s Building Supply, and Raab envisions a day when Greenpods glide out of a local factory. Costs will vary according to site conditions, plus finish and service options. Raab says smart design should meet the affordable, sustainable test by enduring over time. “Up front, you may spend a little more,” she says, “yet get four times the savings over the home’s lifetime.”
Greenpods For more information, go to www.greenp o ddevelopment.com or email info@greenpoddevelopment.com.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008 • Living Green