Lateral Architects Present the Deployable Condo Unit
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10. 2.07
Lola Sheppard and Mason White of lateral architecture developed the A.I.R. unit, conceived with artist Sara Graham and her Canard Development Group installation, the A.I.R. unit is exactly what the condominium-crazed city has been craving ... a deployable condo unit ... that is light as air. They have real estate marketing 101 down pat:
An exciting new freehold residential unit from Canard Development Group offering spectacular value and breathtaking views, and constructed to BuiltGreenTM specifications, A.I.R. represents cutting-edge technology in residential planning-a portable unit that can be attached to any building.
This revolutionary housing unit permits homebuyers to select not only their location, but also if their A.I.R. unit will be hung, cantilevered, suspended, floated, assembled on, assembled in, or extended from the host site. Depending on your chosen site, A.I.R. units can be stacked or linked together to provide larger configuration options; you simply select the number of units you would like.
Air uses state-of-the art construction materials and technologies that maximize overall household efficiency and are environmentally sustainable. Each basic unit is designed to be 75% off-grid which means that for nine months out of each year, A.I.R. can generate and store enough energy to independently supply the unit and its occupants with electricity, air and water. The remaining 25% is tapped from the existing infrastructure of the host site. ::Air and ::Lateral Architecture
The architecture firm LO-TEK has done this already, more or less.
Canard Development Group also has a website which highlights A.I.R. and Canard Development Group. To find out more please visit www.canarddevelopmentgroup.com