In spite of the cool music to the video, ultra nice interior, and the fact that they are designed for net zero energy consumption - this doesn't seem like a good idea. Sure the houses have a lot of bells and whistles and I'm sure in the right place they are fantastic, but these homes are not considering the context of their surroundings - they never see their surroundings until a prefabricated factory built structure is delivered. It is nice that the rooms are ultimately arranged in a way to take advantage of breeze, climate, and views, but could detailing the project to a specific site before hand not do this better? Also, what happens when someone who doesn't understand design and energy offsets positions the rooms? This is an interesting idea as long as intelligent professionals who understand every aspect carry it out; however, this could have the ability to turn into another Charleston Place in Starkville - an attempt at something great.
I like them. From the site, it seems like they only sell to clients they consult with, and it seems like a fairly in-depth design and siting process. I don't know how many takers they will get at $150-225/sf, and taking almost a year to go from start to built seems a bit long to me, especially for prefab.
The good thing about prefab is that it is built in a controlled environment, and the customer would probably be getting a higher-quality product for the same money. The knock against prefab is the perceived lack of uniqueness. But really, who has a house now that truly custom? The only difference between these and the house most of us live in is that the one we have was built in the least-efficient way possible: outside, getting rained on, workers and materials having to come to the site, etc. The designs on most site-built houses are repeated over and over, flipped and flopped around. A truly custom house designed to the site is not the house usually getting built.
The implications are that, if these catch on, a lot of people that would normally not consider environmentally-aware design important would be getting environmentally-aware housing. There is also the local builder to consider, but if these displace anyone they would displace the guys that build comparable housing. People would be turn to these because that guy isn't offering a better product.
From a sustainability stand point the design seems thought out. The design of the house considered climate to the materials used and as far as I can tell from the video - the space seems comfy. However, no matter how it is spun, at the end of the day this is a manufactured home or a trailer house as they say in Webster County, MS. No offense Odie. Please do not get me wrong - I like the shelters. Where they placed them in the video looked like a nice place to go. Context and arrangement would be important otherwise you end with a bonafide trailer park with its linear arrangement. They would definitely work as a weekend getaway as long as the national weather service hasn't issued a tornado warning. I don't know if it's a coincidence or if trailer parks possess a magnetic force but it always seems those places are the first to go. I'm with the Third Little Pig - I'd rather take my chances in something more stable. Again, from a sustainable perspective, I applaud their efforts, but I would consider more than sustainability and
"The factory is shielded from the elements, ensuring that no weather damage will occur during construction." - before purchasing one of these fine homes. In the back of my mind, I would be thinking about my family's safety.
I agree with both Cory and Jamie on this. These homes are indeed beautiful and look like they present a great alternative to some of the other manufactured homes available on the market. However, safety is the first red flag that stands out to me. If this is to be a secondary home, or vacation home, I think its perfect. But for someones primary residence, the materials and construction seem a little unreliable to me. As a student, I would love to live in one of these... it looks perfect and very low maintenance. I have a hard time seeing a community of these however. The term trailer parks comes to mind (as cory mentioned) and there are other safety issues that that term implies. In theory, these homes are spot on. If only they could stretch the design of the exterior to appeal to a wider audience. We who are educated on this topic may find them appealing, but someone who knows little about the benefits of living on net Zero energy consumption may be turned away by the implications a manufactured home implies on their income.
In spite of the cool music to the video, ultra nice interior, and the fact that they are designed for net zero energy consumption - this doesn't seem like a good idea. Sure the houses have a lot of bells and whistles and I'm sure in the right place they are fantastic, but these homes are not considering the context of their surroundings - they never see their surroundings until a prefabricated factory built structure is delivered. It is nice that the rooms are ultimately arranged in a way to take advantage of breeze, climate, and views, but could detailing the project to a specific site before hand not do this better? Also, what happens when someone who doesn't understand design and energy offsets positions the rooms? This is an interesting idea as long as intelligent professionals who understand every aspect carry it out; however, this could have the ability to turn into another Charleston Place in Starkville - an attempt at something great.
ReplyDeleteI like them. From the site, it seems like they only sell to clients they consult with, and it seems like a fairly in-depth design and siting process. I don't know how many takers they will get at $150-225/sf, and taking almost a year to go from start to built seems a bit long to me, especially for prefab.
ReplyDeleteThe good thing about prefab is that it is built in a controlled environment, and the customer would probably be getting a higher-quality product for the same money. The knock against prefab is the perceived lack of uniqueness. But really, who has a house now that truly custom? The only difference between these and the house most of us live in is that the one we have was built in the least-efficient way possible: outside, getting rained on, workers and materials having to come to the site, etc. The designs on most site-built houses are repeated over and over, flipped and flopped around. A truly custom house designed to the site is not the house usually getting built.
The implications are that, if these catch on, a lot of people that would normally not consider environmentally-aware design important would be getting environmentally-aware housing. There is also the local builder to consider, but if these displace anyone they would displace the guys that build comparable housing. People would be turn to these because that guy isn't offering a better product.
From a sustainability stand point the design seems thought out. The design of the house considered climate to the materials used and as far as I can tell from the video - the space seems comfy. However, no matter how it is spun, at the end of the day this is a manufactured home or a trailer house as they say in Webster County, MS. No offense Odie. Please do not get me wrong - I like the shelters. Where they placed them in the video looked like a nice place to go. Context and arrangement would be important otherwise you end with a bonafide trailer park with its linear arrangement. They would definitely work as a weekend getaway as long as the national weather service hasn't issued a tornado warning. I don't know if it's a coincidence or if trailer parks possess a magnetic force but it always seems those places are the first to go. I'm with the Third Little Pig - I'd rather take my chances in something more stable. Again, from a sustainable perspective, I applaud their efforts, but I would consider more than sustainability and
ReplyDelete"The factory is shielded from the elements, ensuring that no weather damage will occur during construction." - before purchasing one of these fine homes. In the back of my mind, I would be thinking about my family's safety.
I agree with both Cory and Jamie on this. These homes are indeed beautiful and look like they present a great alternative to some of the other manufactured homes available on the market. However, safety is the first red flag that stands out to me. If this is to be a secondary home, or vacation home, I think its perfect. But for someones primary residence, the materials and construction seem a little unreliable to me. As a student, I would love to live in one of these... it looks perfect and very low maintenance. I have a hard time seeing a community of these however. The term trailer parks comes to mind (as cory mentioned) and there are other safety issues that that term implies. In theory, these homes are spot on. If only they could stretch the design of the exterior to appeal to a wider audience. We who are educated on this topic may find them appealing, but someone who knows little about the benefits of living on net Zero energy consumption may be turned away by the implications a manufactured home implies on their income.
ReplyDelete