Kieran Timberlake + Living Homes= LBS
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 03.18.08
Treehugger readers may recall the Loblolly House by Kieran Timberlake, to which we have devoted much space, including What Makes a Building Green?, Loblolly House: Pictures at Last and more. I consider it to be one of the most innovative and important houses of this century. Readers may also recall LivingHomes, with the first LEED Platinum prefab from developer Steve Glenn.
As a cured architect and developer, I could only dream of what the result might be if one mixed the talents and innovations of architects like Kieran Timberlake with a business visionary like Steve Glenn and set them to produce small, efficient projects that don't need a Silicon Valley multimillionaire's income to own.
I need dream no more: That is exactly what they are doing.
We have given a bit of coverage to Steve Glenn's Living Homes and and their LEED Platinum Ray Kappe wonder, and wrote about it in Living Homes- Modernist Sustainable Prefab and LivingHomes Awarded LEED for Homes Platinum (Jeremy toured it here and interviewed Steve here)
I was less enthralled with the over-the-top Wired Home because of its size, but it also had much to admire. However one had to wonder when such technologies would percolate down to the mainstream. It seems that they are right now.
Steve Glenn says "“Our collective prefabrication experience allowed us to design a completely new kind of building system, one that will allow us to make our homes faster, with less cost and a smaller ecological footprint. In addition to lower cost single family LivingHomes designed by KieranTimberlake, we’re introducing our first multi-family homes, which allows us to better serve the urban infill market. With these homes, we begin to fulfill our mission to make our homes affordable and accessible to people around the country and world.”
Over the past few years we have seen quite a few "revolutionary" building systems that never got off the ground; the building industry is conservative and the building codes and inspectors even more so. The LivingHomes Building System looks like one of those systems that might crawl through the approval process- it is a "a proprietary platform that combines modules for kitchens, baths and utility cores, and”Smart Panels™”, that integrate mechanical ducting, electrical and plumbing. With complexity and cost concentrated in particular panels and modules, this flexible building system allows for high-volume fabrication, assemble and easier transportation.
“We see the LBS as an important tool and a great opportunity to make quality, environmentally responsible design available to more people,” explains Steve Kieran, Partner at KieranTimberlake.
Each home is virtually constructed using high-tech parametric modeling software before anything is actually physically built either at the site or at the factory. The virtual assembly process even further reduces construction waste and allows the design team to map out the construction process in precise detail.
“James Timberlake and I have long argued that there is a pandemic lack of productivity and quality control in the design and construction industry today,” said Kieran. “With this belief structure, we see working with LivingHomes as an exceptional and welcome opportunity to bring a new level of quality, productivity, affordability, and sustainability to housing development.”
From anyone else I would be really concerned that it would languish in the approval stages, I think this team has the experience and resources to pull it off.
The KT1 starts at 1185 square feet and is designed to be expandable; I suppose one will just be able to go off to the LivingHome Depot and order up additional floor and wall panels as your needs change. It is what is sometimes known as a "French Farmhouse" plan with the living space above the bedrooms, which was terrific when Ted Cullinan did it , but I am not certain about doing it over a parking space- one has to schlep their groceries up three flights of stairs. On the other hand I am sure one can flip them around at will.
expanded version
"The “expandable” LivingHomes by KieranTimberlake, based on the proprietary LivingHomes Building System (LBS), are designed to grow with the owners needs, expanding from 900 sf to 2000 sf. Rooms can be added as you need them, configured from one to four bedrooms. Standard sustainable features include FSC-certified wood, low-VOC paints, formaldehyde-free millwork. Additional options include LED downlights, photovoltaics, green roofs, grey water ecycling, and other environmental systems."
Priced from $ 215 PSF excluding land, foundations, and transportation.
As an architect, and one that has attended a public lecture on the Loblolly House, I think the enthusiasm for prefab housing is overblown. One it is not cheaper, yes, construction tolerances can be more precise, but the best houses are a true response to site, place, climate, etc. And the best houses also have hand crafted joinery. Loblolly, flatpak, you name the flavor, they all have the look of a kit of parts instead of a beautifully integrated and permanently connected whole.
The degree of customization in the various prefab systems is also limited, and therefore, the results are not likely the best fit for a particular place. The Loblolly House also has redundant structure - the modules for bathrooms and prefab wall panels are sufficiently strong on their own - but are fit within a heavy aluminum - I think - structural frame. The material in the redundant structural frame more than offsets any material savings the architect suggests. But these issues are actually the least of my concerns.
The biggest concern I have regarding a wholesale shift to prefeb housing is that it would undermine local economic activity. We need to cultivate skilled-broad knowledge employment opportunities and local small businesses rather than turning home building into another factory assembly line with monotonous, dumb, single task piece jobs.
If we are concerned about the results of global warming and resource depletion, we need to realize that stronger local economies and fewer factories is the likely path we will walk.
Prefeb housing is nothing more than a misguided folly.
I want that one on the front page for my place in the woods. Obviously, it would be a welcome mat for porcupines-a-chewing...which I could accomodate with a .22.
Air-drop outhouse on main floor?
The only drawback I can see is that people might end up storing junk under the pillar space. Would really need a nearby shed to overcome that.
I guess I just don't see how these prefabs are practical in any sort of colder climate; they look like complete sieves for any sort of heat or ac. They are ridiculously expensive on top of that, why are these types of houses so much more green? Why isn't just remodeling/greening an old, existing house a better option in the first place?
I enjoy ventures in design that incorporate function and sustainability together to solve human problems with out creating a new set of problems. Very intuitive design theory which would be easily marketed and usefull for most residential projects. I ENJOYED THE POST.
Greg is absolutely right. If you want Ikea neighborhoods, culture-less blobs that look identical all over the world, go prefab. If you want a community with character, substance and proud citizens, call a local architect and builder.
Great post and great comments.
Re prefab/kit, it still seems way too expensive. People who can afford over $200 per square foot already have a whole spectrum of amazing choices without even considering prefab. And as JL said, maybe cheaper and ultimately better to just green an old home.
It would be great to read more details about the types of green construction upgrades somebody could do after buying a "regular" home or even what some people quickly designate as a "teardown"...and the cost and difficulty involved. There is a whole range of interesting options, from tearing everything down to the studs, to DIY stuff that can be done as projects and under certain budges after actually moving in.
I'm concerned about people with mobility issues. Where are the green houses for them? If your living room is on the third floor, can you have your elderly in-laws over? Can you have friends in wheelchairs? I would be excited to see some coverage of this.
Want greenish for $30/sf? I checked out the Peapod house (also pre-fab of sorts) at Building Energy Conference this year. Sadly not too much on their website yet. http://www.peapodhomes.com/ but it uses a solar gain/natural convection etc... to move towards a NetZero house. In theory, will NOT drop below 55 deg (F).
A basic pod of 2200-3300 sf runs around $120k (then kit it out as you see fit; could probably be done for another $100k + foundation).
To the man who talks about less factories
Where I build homes, some workers travel 2 hrs each way for their jobs, I would much rather have a factory built house that doesnt require all the trips by a bunch of workers to and from the site.
To the man who talks about less factories
Where I build homes, some workers travel 2 hrs each way for their jobs, I would much rather have a factory built house that doesnt require all the trips by a bunch of workers to and from the site.