Chartwell School Unveils Sustainably-Built Prefab Classrooms

posted in inhabitat



Toby Long, principal architect of CleverHomes and tobylongdesign, recently led the effort to produce one of the first CHPS (Collaborative for High Performance Schools) certified relocatable classrooms in the United States. Working with the Chartwell School, Long and his San Francisco-based design/build/prefab company designed, prefabricated, and installed two green portable classroom structures, which were completed this summer in four weeks flat.

Constructed as part of The New High School Project at Chartwell, the buildings were designed to serve Chartwell’s immediate need for classrooms while being flexible to suit the school’s future growth. If necessary the prefab structures can be easily retrofitted to serve as residences on campus.
Measuring 960-square-feet each, the units were designed to complement the existing campus, but also provide a hint of distinction between the school’s older and newer spaces. The buildings feature eco-friendly materials and finishes similar to those used in the design and construction of the LEED Platinum Chartwell Campus.

The new buildings incorporate a variety of leading-edge environmental systems and specifications. They feature over 300 square feet of glazing as well as Anderson composite windows, operable clerestory windows and skylights that provide natural light and ventilation throughout the interior spaces. The prefab buildings also feature FSC-certified lumber, radiant floor heating systems, high-recycled content gypsum board, no-formaldehyde insulation, and no-VOC paints and coatings. The structures also showcase some impressive technology – each unit is hooked up to the main campus’ photovoltaic system, ventilation systems are connected to carbon dioxide sensors, and the interiors feature daylight and occupant sensing lighting systems for fluorescent lights.

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IJburg House by Kirsten Gabriels and James Webb

IJburg House by the architects Kirsten Gabriels and James Web is a freestanding villa on the new island of IJburg provides for a family to live both independently or together. The two story house with children’s room, kitchenette and bathroom in the lower ground, and can be accessed from the street.

The upper level contains the parents’ studio space, bedroom and bathroom. The internal levels are demarcated in the façade with white bands and horizontally laid western red cedar boards further striate the volume.

The house is transparent from the street to the canal with the main front and back façades of full height glazing. All walls perpendicular to the street are solid timber clad surfaces. A clear demarcation of the house‘s internal levels are revealed in the façade with white bands. Horizontally laid western red cedar boards further striate the volume.

The entrance façade consists of a large full height glass door and an art piece by Amsterdam artist Yvonne Kroese. The lasercut steel panel features creatures found on and around IJburg and houses the letter box and other entrance hardware.

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Bridge House

posted in Archinect



Background
The clients required a permanent home/office on their small property, located one hour’s drive from Adelaide. A bend in the winter creek that divides the property, creates a billabong (a deep waterhole) bounded by a high rocky bank. A house was required that would allow appreciation of the site without spoiling its beauty, but at a budget comparable with a “prefabricated” dwelling or an “off the plan” developers design (approximately A$220,000/US$175,000).

The Design
A narrow house form, spans over the creek. Glazing each side opens the house to views in both directions, giving the feeling of living amongst the trees.

Structure and Materials
Two steel trusses forming the primary structure, were fabricated off site and erected by two men and a crane in two days. They were anchored by four small concrete piers, poured each side of the creek. Spanning between the trusses is a concrete floor slab on steel decking with a layer of rigid insulation. The “box” walling and roofing is plantation pine.



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Habitat 67

The Origin

Expo 67, one of the world’s largest universal expositions was held in Montreal. Within the movement of liberalization and opening to the world characterizing this period, the exposition was entitled “Man and his World” as the title of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s masterpeace. Housing was one of the main themes of Expo 67.
Habitat 67 is an experience that was revealed as being a spectacular achievement impacting on the collective imaginary and contributing in a significant way to the feeling of pride of the Montrealers.
It is Moshe Sadie’s discovery, student in architecture at McGill University in the beginning of the 60’s: an urban and three-dimensional housing concept rallying the “single family dwelling” in an adaptable form to density.

An icon of permanent modernity

The cube is the base, the mean and the finality of Habitat 67. In its material sense, the cube is a symbol of stability. As for its mystic meaning, the cube is symbol of wisdom, truth, moral perfection, at the origin itself of our civilization.

354 cubes of a magnificent grey-beige build up one on the other to form 148 residences nestled between sky and earth, between city and river, between greenery and light.

The whole unites in a gigantic sculpture futuristic interiors, links, pedestrian streets and suspended terraces, aerial spaces, skylights of different angles, large plazas and monumental elevator pillars, without forgetting the openings, here and there, that are as many winks and calls to meditation from the environment as well as from the living experience.

GREEN OFFICE 2015: Workplace of the Future by Olivia Chen

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The Netherlands being the tiny country that it is, it’s no surprise that we tend to look to them for innovative design for dense urban spaces. RAU Architects developed their Green Office 2015 concept for a multi-functional office building that combines a spacious interior for comfortable working and ample green space for recreation. Designed for a site with existing infrastructure, this green office integrates sustainable transportation and is outfitted with photovoltaic cells and wind turbines to keep the office’s carbon footprint low.

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California Desert Home Uses Passive Ventilation Techniques by Olivia Chen

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Building a home in the desert is certainly a test of green building innovation — because in a climate where resources are limited, how do you build to ensure comfort and longevity? Architect Lloyd Russell offers a beautiful solution with his Austin Residence near Palm Springs, California. Besides its construction out of recycled materials, Russell gave serious consideration to the mechanics of passive ventilation the home during the hot summer months. He was also sensitive to the culture of the surrounding California desert when developing the home’s look-and-feel, creating a contemporary home reminiscent of an old West outpost that captures the essence of desert living.

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Architects per thousand People

by anArchitecture



Are there too many architects in Europe? At least there is a lot competition within the business and most of the firms offer the same services: 'beautiful' buildings. It's getting hard to establish oneself.