Situated 1,066 m (3,497 ft) above sea level in Norway, the construction of Cabin Ustaoset posed a challenge due to the lack of road access, and both helicopter and snow scooter were required to deliver materials. It was clearly worth the extra effort though, as the handsome cabin provides an amazing view that includes a lake, mountain range and large glacier.
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Cabin Ustaoset is raised slightly atop concrete pillars and has a total floorspace of 72 sq m (775 sq ft). It includes two bedrooms, one combined living room and bedroom, and two lofts, sleeping a maximum of 13 people thanks to bunk beds. There's also a kitchen and dining area and at least one bathroom.
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The decor is very clean and simple, and reminds us of other Norwegian cabins we've reported on, such as the Skåpet Mountain Lodges and Cabin Vindheim. Designer and owner Jon Danielsen Aarhus says the interior design was inspired by a gapahuk shelter, an improvised Norwegian shelter consisting of two posts with a horizontal log on top, and branches against it.
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The idea was to make full use of the natural views on offer, and to this end Aarhus installed a large glazed wall facing the best view. The glazing throughout is pretty generous though and the glass used is triple-glazed solar protective glass, to reduce solar heat gain.
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There's actually a nice backstory to Cabin Ustaoset, too. Aarhus' grandparents formerly maintained a cabin on the same spot. Materials from this old cabin were taken and reused for the new cabin's construction, including old floorboards and reclaimed wood. A small secondary cabin remains on the site, which is being used as an annex.
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The new cabin follows the same rough footprint as the old, having already proven ideal for snow distribution (no need to dig out the door in winter, for example). This also meant that the existing vegetation was not unduly disturbed. Aarhus used manual tools rather than heavy machinery to carefully lay the groundwork so as to not destroy the greenery.
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We've no word on how Cabin Ustaoset gets its power, but would guess a generator or solar power and batteries are used in such an isolated area. The project was completed in 2016, however there's still a little work left to do – Aarhus plans to use some leftover materials to use to construct an outbuilding later this year.
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COMMENTARY: Love the minimalist architectural design and decor of Cabin Ustaoset. I enjoy being in the backwoods and the use of all natural, recycled wood throughout the cabin blends well with the rustic environment of Norway. If you want to be away from it all, you gotta love this cabin. Works great for families with kids, because you can pack them ito the bunkbeds, no problem, and I just know they would love climbing the stairs to get to their beds. Would love to build something similar when I win the Lotto. LOL.
Courtesy of an article dated March 30, 2017 appearing in New Atlas
This house is so easy to move, it's like picking up a suitcase.
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If you can't afford an ordinary apartment, maybe you can try living in a parking lot. Even a Google employee is already doing it, leaving the rest of us mere mortals resigned to our fate.
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In Bangkok, where rents are quickly rising and young professionals often struggle to find places to live, architects created a simple tiny house that can easily pop up in a parking garage or inside one of the city's half-built abandoned buildings.
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Rachaporn Choochuey, cofounder of All(zone), a Bangkok-based design firm says.
"It is very difficult for young professionals to live with a bit of quality of life in the city. We noticed the issue and want to offer an alternative way of semitemporary living."
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Because the climate is mild in Bangkok, the pop-up apartments are open and airy—something that Choochuey says is somewhat similar to traditional Thai design.
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Choochey says.
"Traditionally architecture was so light, so thin. With modernization, we began to build following international standards, which are somehow too solid for tropical conditions. People ended up living in air-conditioned environments all the time, which is very absurd."
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Instead of solid walls, the structure has a lattice-like design that lets breezes pass through. She says.
"With the wall, we need as much ventilation as possible. It is always too hot, not cold. . . . The perforated nature of the structure would be perfectly matched with the climate conditions."
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The lightweight building can easily be moved from place to place and set up in unused spaces, like the many half-built buildings in Bangkok that were abandoned after repeated economic crashes. Instead of signing a lease, someone would have a home they could bring along if they need to move. She points out the housing's portability.
"It's a bit larger than moving a suitcase."
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When the architects set up a prototype in an abandoned parking garage, a couple of young designers volunteered to try living in it for a few days. Their verdict: It had some advantages over typical apartment living, beyond the savings in rent.
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Choochuey says.
"There are also opportunities for community gathering, the exposure that living in a small apartment unit of a big building cannot offer."
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The Light House is on display at the Chicago Architecture Biennial.
COMMENTARY: The lighthouse portable housing cubes attract squatters and are especially usable in tropical areas. The micro-dwellings can be built on a budget of just $1,200 (£790) and disassembled in a matter of hours.
The floors are made from plastic-laminated plywood, while a polyethylene-coated metal grid envelops the space and doubles as shelving structure. Different degrees of perforation creates various configurations and spaces that can be unique. The studio built two prototypes within a vacant parking garage in Bangkok for two designers who inhabited the structures for several days. The firm said.
“The prototype house could lead to a new type of housing with less rigid materiality and energy.”
Courtesy of an article dated November 4, 2015 appearing in Fast Company Exist and an article dated October 8, 2015 appearing in Habitat
THE ROTTERDAM-BASED ARCHITECTURE FIRM HAS TURNED THE ROOF OF A TENNIS CLUB INTO SPECTATOR SEATING
MVRDV, the Rotterdam-based architecture firm known for its bold, futuristic designs including everything from small town community centers to South Korean Skygardens to dazzling skyscrapers that look like Twizzlers, is now jumping into the sporting arena. Its latest design is just as much furniture as it architecture though: a comfy red tennis clubhouse that doubles as a seating area for over 200 spectators.
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The new building is simply called the Couch, because of course it is. Located in IJburg, near Amsterdam, and built for the appropriately named Tennisclub IJburg, first founded in 2008. The tennis club already has a number of facilities, including 10 clay courts and a tennis school. But with the addition of the Couch, Tennisclub IJburg finally has not just a place to relax between games, but a place to watch them.
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MVRDV co-founder and architect Winy Maas says.
"With the Couch, we have integrated sport into society By turning the roof of the club-house into a tribune, a Centre Court is created. Here we celebrate the talent of the amateur players who are challenged to excel in front of the public. By covering the entire building in red polyurethane the club gains visibility: an advert for sports and movement. The essence of the building is the stimulation of fitness and the fight against obesity and inactivity."
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MVRDV developed the clubhouse together with a co-architect, Studio Bouwkunde. In execution, the building is reminiscent of Bjarke Ingels's work on Copenhagen's Gammel Hellerup School. For that project, Ingels used the roof of an undulating rec center and the school's new arts building as common spaces for lounging around, eating meals, and watching sports. MVRDV's take, though, looks warm and accommodating, like a pillow a giant sat on after deciding to sit and watch a tennis match for a spell.
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COMMENTARY: I am a huge architectural design buff, and just love architecture that is on the leading edge of architectural design and is both multi-functional and energy efficient. MVRDV has really blown me away with The Couch.
The Tennis Club IJburg club house is a 36-metre long open volume with services on either end such as dressing rooms, a kitchen, storage and toilets. The main space is multifunctional, so it can be used for the club’s many events. The roof dips down towards the south side and is raised towards the north up to a height of seven metres, creating an informal tribune for the club with terraced seating. This ‘Couch’ can seat up to 200 spectators comfortably. The wide glass front to the north side allows extensive natural lighting and provides a view out over the waters of the IJ-lake.
Inside the club house, the in-situ concrete structure is clad with FSC-certified wood, while the outside is fully sealed with an EDSM polymer hotspray in the same colour and texture as the clay tennis courts. The reduced glass surface to the south helps to cool the building. The thermal mass of the building, characteristic of its materialisation in concrete and wood, are used to reach a high degree of energy efficiency. It clubhouse will be heated by a district heating system made efficient by a heat exchanger. In summer there will be natural ventilation, adding to the ambitious sustainability profile of the structure.
Tennis club IJburg is located on a manmade island in the East of Amsterdam and opened in 2008. The tennis club, currently with 2000 members, has 10 clay courts and a tennis school. The new club house is not the centre of the club's activities.
MVRDV developed the clubhouse together with co-architect Studio Bouwkunde and structural engineer ABT. Contractor Romijn Bouw realised the building, which is MVRDV's eighth project to be built in Amsterdam.
Courtesy of an article dated October 16, 2015 appearing in Fast Company Design and an article dated October 14, 2015 appearing in MVRDV
Apple's building a new campus to compliment its campus at One Infinite Loop. Here are 46 facts about the new Apple campus, which is referred to by many as the 'Spaceship Campus' due to its flying saucer-like design.
Apple's got so big that it is building a new campus to compliment its campus at One Infinite Loop. Here are 46 facts about the new Apple campus, which is referred to by many as the 'Spaceship Campus' due to its flying saucer-like design.
Speaking of flying saucers, someone flew a drone over Apple’s ‘spaceship’ campus, in January, watch the video below to see how the new campus is shaping up.
Watch it here:
The mystery person went back with their drone in February, showing us how much difference a month can make at Apple's new campus.
Watch it here:
Then, in March, AppleInsider posted a drone captured video to Vimeo entitled "Apple Campus 2 Tour", which you can see here:
The most interesting video, however is one that was released at the end of March. This is the best glympse so far of Apple's new spaceship campus, showing us the sheer scale of the project. You can see that here:
How big is Apple's new campus?
1. The new Apple Campus will be set in a 2.8 million-square-foot area.
2. That's an 176-acre site.
3. It will house over 13,000 Apple employees in the one building.
4. The building is more than a mile around.
5. There will be 300,000 square feet of research facilities and underground parking.
6. In May 2014, Apple leased 290,000 square feet of new office space in Sunnyvale known as Sunnyvale Crossing. It is thought that this additional space composes of seven buildings and will provide room for around 1,450 workers. It is located near to the new 'Spaceship' campus as well as the current 'Infinite Loop' campus.
Rendering of new Apple HQ 2 (Click Image To Enlarge)
Watch this video of Apple's presentation about the new campus to the City of Cupertino:
7. The four-story circular structure will have huge walls of glass that will allow employees to look out from both sides of the ring.
Rendering of an exterior view of the inner circle of the new Apple HQ2 (Click Image To Enlarge)
8. Peter Arbour, an architect for Seele, the company that makes the glass staircases in Apple stores around the world, told Bloomberg: "It is something like six kilometres of glass."
9. British firm Foster+Partners have been appointed as the architects for this colossal building. Previous projects include Wembley Stadium, Canary Wharf Underground Station, Stansted Airport, London’s Millenium Bridge, HSBC HQ at Canary Wharf, the Maclaren Technology Centre and the Hearst Tower in New York.
10. In an interview with Architectural Record, Forster+Partners founder and chairman Norman Foster explained that he was inspired by the idea of a London square, where houses surround a park. This eventually evolved into the present design: a circular structure surrounding a large outdoor park.
11. Foster reveals in the video created to promote the Campus 2 project to the City of Cupertino's planning commission (watch it above) that in the original plans there was no circular 'spaceship' structure. Foster said: "It didn't start as a circular building, it really grew into that. So the idea of one building with a great park was really borne out of a very intensive process."
Rendering of an exterior view of the cafe and lounging area of the new Apple HQ 2 (Click Image To Enlarge)
12. Despite aiming to be self-sufficient and earth-friendly, the range of materials used in the construction will without a doubt be the top of the line. "As with Apple's products, Jobs wanted no seam, gap or paintbrush stroke showing; every wall, floor and even ceiling is to be polished to a supernatural smoothness. All of the interior wood was to be harvested from a specific species of maple, and only finer quality 'heartwood' at the centre of the trees would be used," an insider told Business Week.
13. As a consequence of the large size of the building, the sections have been broken up with cafes, lobbies and entrances.
14. In the interview linked above, Foster explains that, when planning the layout of the building, the architects had to consider the different departments that would need to work together, and considered vertical proximities as well as horizontal ones.
"Of course, you have got an enormous range of skills in this building: from software programmers to designers, marketing, retail," he said. "But you can move vertically in the building as well as horizontally. The proximity, the adjacencies are very, very carefully considered."
15. A significant segment of the building is the restaurant, which opens up to the landscape.
16. The car park is buried below the landscape so there are no rows of parked cars to spoil the view.
Rendering of the underground parking garage of the new Apple HQ 2 (Click Image To Enlarge)
17. A video made by Technology Integration Services was created based on publicly available information about Apple Campus 2; the company has no affiliation with Apple. The video depicts additional buildings along with the main 'spaceship' building and gives an indication of how vast the greenery will be in the area. A fountain can be seen in the middle of the campus along with a performance stage, presumably for presentations to Apple employees. Watch the video here.
Rendering of an overhead view of the cafe and lounge area of the new Apple HQ 2 (Click Image To Enlarge)
18. This picture shows the Apple Campus 2 site when it was being prepped for foundation work with the first walls having been erected, running around the perimeter of where the main building will stand. This is where construction crews poured foundation.
Apple Campus 2 site when it was being prepped for foundation work (Click Image To Enlarge)
19. Phase two of the project, includes the creation of research & development buildings and other secondary buildings for meetings and presentations, requires demolition to clear land along N. Tantau Avenue then took place. Current residents, Panasonic, are based opposite the site. Panasonic's response to Apple's new headquarters is not known although tensions could run high between the neighbouring businesses should Apple ever branch out into the TV market.
How much input did Steve Jobs have in the new campus?
20. According to Norman Foster, Apple's late CEO Steve Jobs requested that he be considered a part of the team rather than the client.
21. Jobs wanted the new campus to reflect the Californian landscapes from his childhood, Foster claims in the video.
22. Apple's 'senior arborist', David Muffly, reveals in the video that part of Apple's plan was to bring California back to Cupertino.
23. Steve Jobs was inspired by a large space known as the Main Quad on the Stanford campus.
The new Apple HQ2 will have an interior area inspired by the Main Quad of the Stanford campus (Click Image To Enlarge
When will Apple's new campus be ready?
24. Although the project was intended to be ready by mid-2015, setbacks put the plans behind schedule. Apple plans to move into the main structure by 2016 whilst other secondary buildings will be completed on a rolling basis.
How environmentally friendly will the new Apple campus be?
25. The new Apple Campus will aim at being self-sufficient. Most of the power for the facilities will come from an "on-site low carbon Central Plant", according to an Apple Insider report. Apple intends to use alternative energy sources to power the campus, as part of its pledge to use 100 percent renewable energy at its facilities.
26. After revisions to the original plan, Apple showed that will be able to complete the project without having to remove any dirt from the area.
27. The structure will be outfitted with solar panels around the top of the building. It will run mostly off the Cupertino power grid but will use it as a backup electrical supply.
28. 7,000 trees will surround the campus. Apple has hired a leading arborist from Stanford University to help landscape the area and restore some of the indigenous plant life, including apricot orchards.
Rendering of the interior quad area of the new Apple Headquarters 2 (Click Image To Enlarge)
29. All landscaping is intended to make the area look very park-like. It will include jogging paths and walking trails around the building.
30. The former HP campus on which Apple's Campus 2 is being built was covered in buildings, concrete parking lots and non-indigenous decorative trees ill-suited to the specific Pacific climate. The strongest of the trees will be replanted and augmented with sturdy species that will flourish to create large open expanses of greenery.
31. Apple VP of Environmental Initiatives Lisa Jackson reiterates that 80 percent of the site will be so-called "green space", while the main building will go without air conditioning or heating for 75 percent of the year thanks to natural ventilation. Further, 100 percent of the campus' energy will be sourced from renewable assets like solar power and bio fuels.
32. Foster compared the new Apple campus to an airport, telling Architectural Review: "If you compare these very large buildings in terms of the area enclosed by the amount of external wall, they're very efficient, so they consume less energy. They're also a better experience, because you're not leaving one terminal, going outside, onto a road, or into a tunnel, or onto a train to get to another terminal. You're not worrying about what the hell is happening to your bags as they leave one place and you hope that they end up in the other place.
"Overall, it's a better experience - it's more sustainable, it's more economic. And, architecturally, it's more interesting. The same is true with the very large Apple building."
33. The new campus will reportedly use recycled water and will use 13,300 feet of pipeline to share the supply between it and Cupertino.
How much will the new Apple campus cost?
34. The budget for the new spaceship-like headquarters has ballooned from less than $3 billion in 2011 to almost $5 billion.
Rendering of the interior quad area of the new Apple Headquarters 2 (Click Image To Enlarge)
What facilities will there be at the new Apple campus?
37. The main building will include a wellness centre. This $75 million fitness centre will probably cater for the needs of the entire Apple community in Silicon Valley, which is around 20,000 people.
38. The headquarters will be fitted with a new 1000-seat underground auditoriumwhich will allow Apple to have presentations in the same building, instead of having to go to San Francisco every time.
40. Due to its underground location, this will triple the amount of landscaped area in the campus.
Rendering of an exterior view of the front of the new Apple Headquarters 2 (Click Image To Enlarge)
41. Despite rumours and an unsuccessful campaign by David Greelish, Apple will not open a museum at the new HQ. As Phil Schiller explained, Apple is "focused on inventing the future, not celebrating the past".
42. There will be miles of jogging and cycling trails.
43. 1,000 bikes will be kept on the site and available to staff to get around the campus.
Rendering of the many walking and jogging trails on the property of the new Apple Headquarters 2 (Click Image To Enlarge)
44. A new Caffè Macs employee cafeteria has recently opened at Apple's Cupertino campus. Designed solely for Apple employee use, the general public is not allowed entry to the building, having been designed as an area for Apple employees to discuss work in a secure and private area. The cafeteria, built over two years and in a 21,468 square foot space, has been designed by Foster + Partners, the same agency responsible for Campus 2.
The building’s kitchen, server and espresso bar have been billed as smaller versions of the ones that will feature at Campus 2, enabling the food service team to test the design and layout of the kitchen and serving areas on a smaller scale. The cafeteria at Apple Campus 2 is expected to be eight times larger and span two floors.
The structure of Caffè Macs Alves is reminiscent of design plans for the new campus, containing high ceilings, stonewalls, glass façade and terrazzo floors, all of which are design signatures of Apple Campus 2.
Exterior view of Apple's new Caffe Mac at the present campus in Cupertino (Click Image To Enlarge)
Interior view of the new Caffe Mac at the present HQ in Cupertino (Click Image To Enlarge)
What will happen to the old Infinite Loop Apple HQ?
47. The local area of Cupertino has missed revenues from Hewlett Packard since they left the site however the construction of Apple Campus 2 has lead to the City Council's budget being boosted by an extra $30.6 million. $8 million of the extra revenue will be used to pay off the city retiree medical unfunded liability, with another $8.3 million being used to fund pavement maintenance. The remaining extra funding will be transferred into the city's capital reserve.
Rendering of the main entrance to the new Apple Headquarters 2
COMMENTARY: When I first blogged about Steve Jobs' new Apple HQ 2 aka Spaceship HQ, the budget for the construction of the new campus was $1 billion. Now I am reading that there have been so many modifications to the original cost estimate that the cost has ballooned to $5 billion. WOW. No wonder the stockholders are pissed off. I would be too.
Courtesy of an article dated April 2, 2015 appearing in Macworld
David Rockwell--an architect best known for theaters, grand restaurant interiors, and posh hotels--is getting into the prefab game. (Click Image To Enlarge)
ROCKWELL GROUP IS TEAMING UP WITH C3 DESIGN TO BUILD MODULAR HOMES FOR LUXURY BUYERS.
David Rockwell--an architect best known for theaters, grand restaurant interiors, and posh hotels--is getting into the prefab game.
David Rockwell, CEO and Founder of the Rockwell Group. (Click Image To Enlarge)
He has partnered with Fred Carl* of the appliance company Viking Rangeto build the first luxury prefabricated homes for Carl's new modular housing venture, C3 Design, Inc.
He has partnered with Fred Carl of the appliance company Viking Range to build the first luxury prefabricated homes for Carl's new modular housing venture, C3 Design, Inc. (Click Image To Enlarge)
Rockwell says that the modular homes will offer "a luxury design at a less than luxury price." He unveiled the Pinwheel series, a luxury line of prefabricated homes for luxury buyers at the Dwell on Design conference in Los Angeles in July 2014.
Scale model of a modular home called the Pinwheel series designed by C3 Design and the Rockwell Group that debuted at Dwell on Design 2014 in Los Angels in July 2014. (Click Image To Enlarge)
Prefab architecture is typically associated withaffordable housing, not luxury design. Because prefab buildings are constructed offsite, then shipped for assembly, they are less resource-intensive than traditional buildings. Rockwell and his team hope that with some architectural finesse, they can create stylish digs with minimal environmental impact.
Rockwell says that the modular homes will offer "a luxury design at a less than luxury price." (Click Image To Enlarge)
He said in a phone interview.
"Prefab didn’t need to mean compromise in any way."
Ultimately, the architect plans to work with C3 to design interior additions like prefab wine cellars.
Rockwell unveiled the design for a house called "Pinwheel'"at the Dwell on Design conference in Los Angeles held in July 2014. (Click Image To Enlarge)
Creating a home that doesn't necessarily look like a cookie-cutter container became one of the key challenges. Rockwell says.
"When you have a building block like a rectangle, you don’t want to have a railroad situation. That limitation became the key contributing factor to the design."
Prefab architecture is typically associated with affordable housing like this model, not luxury design. (Click Image To Enlarge)
His 2,400-square-foot house consists of four rectangular rooms arranged around a 500-square-foot interior courtyard. Rockwell was inspired by his childhood in Mexico, where "outdoor space was part of the lifestyle." The house features two bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms, with a study that can be converted into an additional bedroom. The kitchen comes complete with a 10-foot-long marble island and professional grade appliances. Rockwell says.
"I love the fact that you have this little private retreat where you can entertain outdoors and it’s connected directly to the kitchen."
Because prefab buildings are constructed offsite, then shipped for assembly, they are less resource-intensive and eco-friendly than traditional buildings. (Click Image To Enlarge)
Since a prefab house can be shipped anywhere, Rockwell wanted to find a way to ensure the houses could fit into the local landscape, even if that landscape looked radically different from one buyer to the next. The exterior of the house will have a variety of aesthetics so that it can blend in just as well in Phoenix as it does in Honolulu. A hanging screen on the outside of the house--available in everything from steel to reclaimed wood to green landscaping--offers another way to give the house a more tailored aesthetic. Rockwell says.
"In a modular landscape, what we try to do is come up with a design that is very flexible."
His 2,400-square foott house consists of four rectangular rooms arranged around a 500-square foot interior courtyard. Rockwell was inspired by his childhood in Mexico, where "outdoor space was part of the lifestyle." (Click Image To Enlarge)
The more customizable a house is, the less it looks like it came straight off a conveyor belt.
For some, that means an eco-friendly way to build a swank vacation home. For others, it may make a carefully designed home a slightlymore budget-friendly option (prices haven't been released yet). Rockwell homes for the masses! Ish.
COMMENTARY: For Rockwell, a majority of the inspiration behind Pinwheel’s design came from his upbringing in Mexico. The architect describes his childhood as one that was heavily vested in outdoor space. His connection with the outdoors motivated him to include a courtyard in Pinwheel’s plans. With this project, Rockwell and Carl really wanted to out do the notion of what prefabricated architecture could mean. They aimed to challenge the norms and prove that just because resources are limited, prefabricated doesn’t have to mean cookie-cutter looks and cul-de-sac dreams. Together they want to tackle the notion that affordability and luxury are not mutually exclusive. Yeah, we’re listening, too…
The U.S. Prefabricated Housing Marketing
Prefabricated housing shipments for the U.S. are forecast to rise 13.6 percent annually through 2017 to 140,000 units, a vast improvement from the declines of the 2007-2012 period. Prefabricated housing will benefit from a rebound in housing starts. Both types of prefabricated housing declined steadily from 2002 on, and were hit hard by the housing market collapse that began in 2007. As the housing market and general economy recover, demand for prefabricated housing is expected to rise along with total single-family housing starts. Despite the promise of some reduction in construction costs, these products have had limited market penetration, in part because of consumers' familiarity with traditional construction practices, or in the case of manufactured housing, some stigma attached to the product itself. These and other trends are presented in Prefabricated Housing, a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland-based industry market research firm.
Overall, shipments of manufactured housing will reach 90,000 units in 2017.Demand for manufactured housing is concentrated in rural areas and in certain segments of the population -- particularly lower income groups such as young, first time home buyers and those over 55, such as retirees on a fixed income. Expected growth in these populations will boost manufactured housing demand. However, manufactured housing's market share is projected to drop from that of 2012 as the economy continues to expand and conventional mortgages become easier to obtain, and as new regulations make chattel loans (commonly used for manufactured housing) more difficult to secure.
For other prefabricated housing, demand is more evenly spread throughout geographical areas and the segments of the population. As such, demand is less affected by trends in certain areas or populations, and will more closely track demand for overall single-family housing. Therefore, market shares for other prefabricated housing types will be little changed, and demand increases will be similar to those for single-family housing overall.
The Global Prefabricated Housing Marketing
According to reports by Global Industry Analysts (GIA), the world pre-fabricated housing market will reach 827,000 units by 2017. Growth in the world pre-fabricated housing market will be driven by the following key factors:
Continuous technological developments
Positive governmental regulations
Growing promotional activities of manufacturers
Ongoing recovery in world economies
Growing Demand in Developing countries of Asia and Latin America Key growth drivers in the World Market
DRM Prefab researched the global pre-fabricated housing market and produced the following detailed analysis:
Courtesy of an article dated June 20, 2014 appearing in Fast Company Design, an article dated July 28, 2014 appearing in The Street, a press release dated June 20, 2014 issued by C3 Design, Inc., an article dated July 9, 2014 appearing in Urban Scrawl, and an article dated August 3, 2013 appearing in SlideShare
In the early 1960s, faced with the imagined scenario of total nuclear annihilation during the Cuban Missile Crisis, a dozen intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) silos were constructed in the Adirondacks in upstate New York near the former Plattsburgh Air Force Base. The crisis lasted less than two weeks, and because the silos didn’t work very well anyway and had a lifespan of around three years, most were decommissioned by 1964.
The military didn’t know what to do with the silos, which were vast, cavernous underground structures that went 185 feet down and housed Air Force squadrons. They donated the silos to different counties, who didn’t know what to do with them either. So they remained abandoned for more than 50 years.
Eventually, people like Australian architect Alexander Michael came along. He snatched one up near the Plattsburgh base in 1996 for $160,000 and has spent the years ever since plunking down more than $300,000 and restoring his silo to its original glory, while making it a part-time home along the way. He’s got a full kitchen, sleeping quarters and even the original launch control console to tinker with.
Michael says he’s not a Cold War enthusiast or military fanatic. Rather, as a designer, he’s interested in such a utilitarian structure designed specifically for function. He says.
“I find things like these silos and military bunkers extraordinary in their focus on purpose. They’re designed with nothing but functionality in mind, and that creates the most interesting architecture. Aside from the cool factor, of course. How many people do you know that can say they own a nuclear missile silo?”
He’s spent more than 15 years restoring the silo, financed by his work as an architect and the sale of a one-bedroom apartment in Sydney. “I didn’t like that apartment, so I thought I’d buy a nuclear missile silo instead,” he says. “I can’t tell you how much joy it’s given me.”
The front door, seen here, is known as the entrance portal. It leads to a stairway that immediately descends underground about 30 feet to the control center. The entrance portal was built with reinforced concrete designed to be expendable, Michael says.
If the silo were ever destroyed in a nuke blast, the entrance would deliberately collapse, and the only exit would be through an emergency escape hatch, a concrete tube filled with sand that leads from the control center to the surface. You’d open the hatch, release all the sand, put a big ladder up there and hightail it out. Michael says.
“Though I’m not sure why anyone would want to get out if there’s been a nuke blast.”
Michael splits his time between Australia and the silo, where he spends most of spring and fall. Two ventilation pipes — one for intake and one for exhaust — connect to the surface. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, these vents were shut down. An enormous exchange system original to the silo is still used to circulate air.
“As soon as I arrive after being away for a while, I turn on the vent system. Because everything is underground and tightly sealed, you don’t get dust or anything. Everything looks like the day you walked out, completely and utterly exactly the same. The air will be a bit musty, but after an hour and a half of running the system, it’s clean and sweet.”
He says the space is so vast, 52 feet in diameter in some parts, people rarely feel claustrophobic. He says.
“I’m not permanently there anyway, so it’s not an issue. I live in Sydney with one of the greatest views in the world of the opera house and harbor, so I get my fill of views."
Plus, he’s got a bank of monitors on the wall that show what’s happening on the surface. He says.
“This is quite important, especially when you lose sense of time quite easily because you don’t have the usual markers like natural light, the sun or moon. I’ve got 20 clocks down there, too.”
At the bottom of the stairs, you must walk through a “convoluted passage.” Michael says.
“This was to stop unlawful entrances but also to stop pressure from a nuke blast by bouncing the waves off concrete walls and through a series of blast doors.”
As for the appearance, you won’t see any bright colors or graphic wallpaper. He says.
“I wanted to keep it like a nuclear bunker. I wanted it to look exactly like it did when airmen entered it.”
The damage in the silo was extensive when Michael bought it. Water and humidity had caused rust and deterioration, making the restoration painstaking and slow. Michael had to sandblast the blast doors, like the one shown here, take them apart and reassemble them, then repaint and add a rustproof sealant. He says.
“There were four of them, and it was a big exercise.”
Since most of the original military designers, builders and contractors have died, Michael relied on his own expertise and that of friends to help him figure out how things worked and fit back together, making the process arduous.
One thing Michael didn’t keep was the paint color. He says.
"The original color was really, really awful, a very pale yellow-green, pretty much the standard color that the Air Force used in these military installations. It wasn’t a color I could live with. So what else could it be but battleship gray?”
AFTER: The middle of the control center was originally designed as a sphere, because that was the most structurally efficient shape. But it was too difficult, expensive and time consuming to build, so the designers changed it to a cylinder with a flat roof. Because it’s not as structurally viable, a massive central support column (seen here) ensures that the structure and earth above don’t collapse.
The handrail around the cylinder shows how the control center isn’t actually attached to the walls or column, but rather suspended from four hydraulic arms to cushion the entire living level from shockwaves.
Years ago Michael got to test the system during an earthquake. A friend called him up to ask if he’d felt the strong earthquake the night before. Michael says.
“Not a thing. I was disappointed, because I’d never experienced one.”
The open door leads to the bathroom. You can see how the roof of the bathroom sits considerably below the actual concrete ceiling. This shows, again, how the living quarters are suspended, and how things like water pipes and electrical lines are loose fitting to be flexible if the living levels were to shift during a blast.
The bathroom is the only space in the complex that is 100 percent original — the sink basins, toilet pans, shower closet, lighting … everything. He says.
“Mind you, it was disgustingly vile and took a lot of back work and disinfectant to make it come back really fabulous. Of course, not that many people are impressed with it, though.”
Even the plumbing system, being underground, was virtually intact. Everything, including the 90,000-gallon water reservoir that feeds into the silo, is original. Michael flushed the line,
“A lot of nasty s**t came out and got it operational. I didn’t have to pay for new plumbing, though, and all the faucets are original. It just amazes me.”
A large septic tank is housed in the silo. All sewage gets pumped up to a commercial-scale leaching field. He says.
“I just changed the pumps, and the whole system worked and came alive.”
As for power, the silo was originally on the town’s grid, because the military didn’t want to continuously run operations from its two huge generators when not on full alert. This made getting the electricity back on fairly simple.
Here you can see one of the monitors showing closed-circuit video of the world aboveground.
While Michael strived to keep the space as original as possible, he did have to add some conveniences to make it more comfortable and good-looking. In the living room, for example, the original curved concrete walls of the control center created resonant sound and radiated cold air. To fix this he draped the walls completely in quilted gray fabric. He says.
“It stops the convection of air hitting the walls and cooling down. It helps kill the sound as well.”
The floor is still original “olive and drab” vinyl tile, Michael says, but the tiles were so damaged that he covered them with commercial charcoal-gray sisal carpet.
Not much furniture was left behind. Michael says.
“I did find a desk that had been thrown down the silo, but it wasn’t good enough to restore.”
Michael says. So he designed and built pieces himself, like this computer desk constructed from pieces of industrial equipment.
The convex mirror on the tripod is one of several in the silo. Though Michael has backup power now, several times he had to position the mirrors during power outages to reflect sunlight from the surface, through the hallways and into the control room.
This is where the airmen originally ate. Michael chose all period furniture for the space. The chairs are circa 1960 and fiberglass. Multiple clocks help him stay in sync with reality above.
Michael turned the lower level of the control room into sleeping quarters. He designed the big platform beds with industrial wheels and grab rails. He says.
There’s also a small sitting area for reading or watching TV. Again, Michael selected furniture that was designed during the 1960s. He found this Eames chair in a junk shop for $150.
About seven years ago, Michael heard a rumor that the original silo door actuators — big hydraulic cylinders that opened the 90-ton doors — were in a junkyard not far away. He and a friend spent two days digging through the yard and finally found them. He traded in an old six-wheel-drive military vehicle and some cash for them.
He installed one of the cylinders and got it functional, allowing him to open one of the silo doors, seen here. Once both are operational, he’ll be able to create a 40-foot by 20-foot opening in the ground to flood the silo with light.
Even though Michael recently finished the control-center living space, the restoration is an ongoing process. He’s now working on the actual missile silo itself, which is a 185-foot deep space that’s 52 feet in diameter, seen here during an indie film shoot (the missile is a prop). You can see
He wants to turn the missile silo itself into a performance space. He recently let the indie film director’s girlfriend, a concert violinist, play there, and he became hooked on the idea. He says.
“It was the most exquisite thing you’ve ever heard.”
This is a rendering of Michael’s vision for the missile silo doors. The idea would be to let the silo doors open to allow natural light in but keep weather out.
Michael stands in the utility tunnel, which is the only pedestrian access into the silo where the original missile was kept. This is where all the cables and coolant lines run.
For now he hopes to get everything ready for June 2014, when the new Cold War Museum opens in Plattsburgh. Servicemen from the original silo squadron will return to tour the space for the first time since it was decommissioned. He says.
“I’m interested in sharing my home as a design exercise and not just a crazy Australian living in a hole.”
COMMENTARY: Now that's what I call a radical approach to housing. I have heard that many of these silos are being used by so-called "survivalists," who believe the end of the world is eminent or there will be a war between the rich and poor or that #POTUS @BarackObama will get us into a civil war between the Republicans vs the Democrats. I view these punks as crazed outcasts who are in fear of their own shadow. I have to admit that Michael has definitely taken an abandonded missile silo to a new level, but I don't think I living 152 feet below ground without any sunlight or signs of humanity would drive me crazy very fast. Another concern: There's a lot of lead in that military grade gray paint used in those silos (same shit used on U.S. Navy ships), so I hope Michael was able to get rid of all of it. What do you think of Michael's missile silo home?
Courtesy of an article dated April 28, 2014 appearing in Houzz
While I was watching Portlandia last week, the unique floating house where the sleazy character of Bacon (played by Fred Armisen) met with Marty, the celery guy (played by Steve Buscemi) made my eyes pop out of my head. When I happened upon it on Houzz the next day, I couldn’t believe my luck and immediately contacted architect Robert Oshatz to learn more about what inspired its unique organic forms. Built in 2006, the stunning floating home has curves that take their cues from the contours and movement of the Willamette River. A five-minute boat ride from downtown Portland, the home has a design that sprouted from how the clients wanted to live in it, and its organic form followed function.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here:This is the summer home of a couple who divides their time between Portland and the Far East.
As the celery guy, Steve Buscemi channels Jack Lemmon in Glengarry Glen Ross in this phone booth scene, in which he calls his wife before heading to Bacon’s mysterious house. The homeowners are fans of the show and let them shoot the sinister scenes in their home.
On this slip along the Willamette River, he was influenced by the rhythm of the water and its rippling effect. Clad in western red cedar shingles, the facade also resembles the cross section of a large log, like the ones the house is floating atop.
However, the exterior is the last part Oshatz designs. He begins with how the clients want to live and designs the inside in plan and section concurrently, then the exterior follows, taking its cues from the interior’s design. He says.
“I see how a person wants to be in and use their house … a house should adapt to the way they want to live; they should not have to adapt they way they want to live to the house.”
Oshatz says.
“These clients were interested in loft-style living; they are avid readers; and they also wanted space for a study and a guest room.”
They wanted to take advantage of summer outdoor living on the water and were not interested in minimalist white box-style architecture.
“These clients were interested in loft-style living; they are avid readers; and they also wanted space for a study and a guest room.”
They wanted to take advantage of summer outdoor living on the water and were not interested in minimalist white box-style architecture.
Oshatz’s talents for designing organic architecture appealed to them; they found him after admiring another one of his projects. From there he learned they liked soft, flowing lines, wood textures and warm colors. The floors are Brazilian cherry; every other piece of wood is local.
The large opening facing the water offers expansive views of the river and the sunsets. The trapezoid-shaped sliding door plays off the curved geometry. Oshatz made sure each separate piece of glass could fit into a local tempering furnace, cutting down on costs and the carbon footprint of having glass shipped in from far away.
The owners love copper, and Oshatz brought it inside via the fireplace flue. The wall behind it is drywall and reflects the sunlight bouncing off the rippling water that inspired the design.
Privacy is an issue, as most floating homes are in slips very close to adjacent neighbors. Openings that let in light but maintain privacy are needed. Also, fire regulations require that one has to be able to walk all the way around the outside of the house. Oshatz addressed both of these issues with the outer wall and trees, which create privacy from the very close neighbors while still providing views out and letting light in.
The curved beams areglulam, an engineered wood. The pieces are custom made in long metal molds. Here’s the catch: Every time the radius changes in the specifications, a fee is charged. Thus, every piece here has the same radius, even though you see different curves and S-curves on different beams. This not only cuts costs, but lent itself to a more pleasing geometry.
The clerestory windows to the right let in the light while maintaining privacy. Beneath the windows are large cabinets with perforated metal doors. The clients wanted to hang up lots of art, which is made easy by the small holes in the metal — they can hang framed pieces securely into it without having to pierce drywall or wood.
The shingles are standard, but Oshatz had them cut at a 45-degree angle. He says,.
“This means they lay up more softly and don’t cast as strong of a shadow line.”
The pattern of the shingles picks up on the curves of the home and the sense of the flow of the water.
The straight wall along this side of the house contrasts with all the curves. The spacing of the rows of shingles is random, with the shingle exposure ranging from 1 inch to 6 inches.
The roof is copper, as is part of this side’s facade. The copper will weather and develop a patina over time.
Upstairs is a master suite complete with a bedroom that looks down on the main living space and out to the river. The doors here cover a toilet and a shower, and there is a spa tub beyond them, next to the built-in sofa.
WHEN YOU'RE ROBBING STATE COFFERS TO GILD YOUR TOILETS, TASTE BECOMES SECONDARY
During the summer of 2011, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych opened up his modest home to six television reporters, revealing what a journalist with the AP described as "a cozy place with a small office just big enough for his grandchildren to play in." Except even at the time, it was pretty obvious that he didn't live there. The same AP story went on to detail "strong evidence he actually lives in very different digs: a luxurious, marble-columned mansion with a golf course, a helipad, and even an ostrich enclosure."
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Yanukovych's critics were right. When the public finally got a glimpse of the leader's true housing situation after he fled Kiev a week and a half ago and found refuge in Russia (just before Ukraine's parliament voted him out of power) they found all of the above, plus a replica galleon floating on an artificial waterway, elaborate statuary on neatly manicured lawns, garages filled to the brim with vintage cars and motorcycles, bathrooms the size of studio apartments with gilded toilets, and more.
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The Ukrainian presidential palace has a dining room that is nothing short of overwhelming. The mansion wouldn't look out of place as the country abode of an oil baron or a Hollywood starlet, perhaps, but this is the private resident of a public official, who for most of his career made a salary in the realm of $2,000 a month. Yanukovych is currently missing (hiding out in Russia, thanks to that other crook Putin) and wanted on charges of mass murder related to the killing of Euromaidan protesters, who for the past three months have been protesting Yanukovych's policies, including rejecting an accord with the European Union in favor of strengthening ties with Putin's Russia. How Yanukovych's grand residence came to be is a baffling tale of corruption, secrecy, and questionable design choices. Now vacated and overrun by journalists and citizens hoping for a glimpse of the president's secrets, the palace remains an architectural tribute to the fantastic wealth and power wielded by its owner. And yeah, it's pretty ugly.
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Mezhyhirya, as the residence is called, was, up until 1923, the home of a monastery. In 1935, the 350-acre estate was taken over by the government and turned into a park with summer houses for Soviet officials. In 2007, Yanukovych privatized the property in his final days as Prime Minister, demolishing the Soviet-era buildings and erecting a five-story palace built by Honka, a Finnish company that specializes in log houses.
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In Yanukovych’s final weeks as Prime Minister, his government illegally privatised Mezhyhiriya. No money was paid to the state for its sale; instead, a couple of semi- derelict buildings in Kyiv were handed over in return (they have continued to fall down ever since).
Mezhyhiriya, meanwhile, was acquired, without any competitive tendering process, by a Donetsk company called ‘MedInvestTraid’, which immediately resold it and a few years later filed for bankruptcy.
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COMMENTARY: What is it with these Russian and Ukrainian presidents presidential palaces. Vladimir Putin's presidential palace is also very over the top and opulent. But former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych went way over the top with his presidential palace. No wonder he was overthrown.
Near Montana’s Glacier National Park, the town of Whitefish boasts a largely rustic architectural vernacular: log cabins, stone walls, steeply pitched roofs. And when the owner of a sloping forested lot with views of Whitefish Lake and a ski mountain wanted to build a home that was modern and clean, he intended the design to feel like it still fit with the local style.
He tapped architect David Koel of CTA Architects Engineers and interior designer Hunter Dominick of Hunter and Company Interior Design to help create a two-story home that was simple, airy and locked into the landscape with natural, humble materials. In other words, a home that belonged right where it was.
Houzz at a Glance Location: Whitefish, Montana Builders:Denman Construction Size: 2,500 square feet (232 square meters); 2 bedrooms, 2½ bathrooms
The simple, rectangular house has a steeply pitched roofline that echoes the angles of the surrounding mountains and sheds snow and rain away from the entries. The pale stone fireplace chimney serves as an exclamation point to the exterior, which is clad in red cedar. The second-floor main-suite balcony is partially a green roof. “We love to do contemporary work in a rustic Montana world,” says architect Koel.
At dusk the translucent garage door is a welcoming lantern toward the street. The second-floor slot window provides light to the master suite while retaining privacy.
The first floor includes an open living, dining and kitchen space, as well as a guest suite and laundry. Window walls provide views of the lake. Interior designer Dominick incorporated some of the owner’s traditional pieces from a previous residence, as well as specifying new, contemporary furnishings.
The open-tread staircase leads to the second-floor main suite. The polished concrete flooring contains in-floor radiant heating, lowering the home’s energy costs.
The home’s entry was deliberately tucked away from the main living area; the entry sequence is through a gallery-like space where the homeowner displays his contemporary art collection. The door is a custom design by the interior designer, made of cold-rolled steel.
A lack of upper cabinetry keeps the kitchen connected to the dining area and to the views. A wall of pale green glass tile makes a statement and anchors the interior to its woodsy surroundings.
The counters are recycled content and create plenty of space for serious cooking and entertaining. The doorway to the right leads to a wine storage space.
The slate-tiled balcony off the main suite leads to a green roof, landscaped with mosses and other native plantings. The balcony doubles as a canopy for patio spaces below.
A steel and cable railing system and open-tread vertical-grain fir steps create a sculptural staircase to the second-story main bedroom. The flooring is cork.
The exterior’s razor-like lines are enhanced by metal detail at the corners, allowing the red cedar cladding to weather and shift slightly, while keeping the corners crisp.
Stone, wood, steel and glass make up the exterior’s simple palette and help to anchor the house to its natural setting. The front terrace provides a glimpse of the home’s interior.
The rear of the home opens to lakeside views. The tapered end of the second floor contains storage, mechanical and utilities, accessible from the back of the main suite.
COMMENTARY: Just love this house. Love the clean, modern and minimalist design of this home. Lots of windows and natural light give the house a lot of warmth. Follow my blog by joining my newsfeed and get my posts on a regular basis. You will also find me on Facebook, Twitter and Google+ by doing a Google search or clicking the icons below.
Courtesy of an article dated March 24, 2014 appearing in Houzz
Google’s new London office, scheduled to open in 2016, will have an open-air swimming pool, an indoor football pitch, a climbing wall and a roof garden from which to watch trains glide out of Kings Cross station toward Cambridge or Hogwarts. Googlers can cycle right into the building and to the cycle store room, which is equipped with showers and lockers. Somewhere in the interstices, there will also be desks to work at.
View of St Pancras. Photo courtesy of INK-Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (Click Image To Enlarge)
The 1-million-sqare-foot office will sit on 2.4 acres of land between Kings Cross and St. Pancras stations. When the deal was announced in January, it was one of the biggest commercial property acquisitions in Britain. Reutersreports Google will spend £650 million($1.05 billion) to buy and develop the site, with an eventual worth of £1 billion.
The 2.4 acre site sits between Kings Cross station (top), St Pancras Station (bottom) and Central Saint Martins art school (left). Photo courtesy of Rob Parrish-Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (Click Image To Enlarge)
So why is Google splashing the cash on this much space? The cynical answer is because it can: Google needs to do something with all those billions of dollars it has earned outside the U.S. because it can’t bring them home without a whopper of a tax bill. The more philosophical answer is that the nature of work is changing — at least for those companies that can afford it.
Interior offices. Photo courtesy of INK-Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (Click Image To Enlarge)
Conventional wisdom has it that technology has made offices leaner. Manual labor has been eliminated, paper files have been replaced by digital ones, and people can work remotely. Yet that is precisely why Google needsas much spaceas it does — the swimming pool, the football pitch and the free lunches are meant to entice workers into the office, to keep them there, to eliminate reasons for staying away. Tech companies take as much space as old economy firms — they just use it differently.
Googlers can cycle right into the building to the 20,000-square-foot bike shed. Photo courtesy of INK-Allford Hall Monaghan Morris. (Click Image To Enlarge)
“The idea is that the people who are in the building — not the tenant but the actual staff — need to be attracted to the building. They need to like the community of the building.”
Parts of the office, such as the promenade running through the building, will be open to the public. Photo courtesy of INK-Allford Hall Monaghan Morris. (Click Image To Enlarge)
That’s also why Google chose to put its building at Kings Cross. Central Saint Martins, an art school, is just over the canal. The Francis Crick Institute, a biomedical research center, is coming there in 2015. The British Library, home to one of the world’s largest collections of knowledge, is up the road. And Googlers with a decent pair of binoculars should be able to read tomorrow’s news being typed out at the Guardian’s offices on the other side of Kings Cross. When complete, the neighborhood will have one of the highest concentrations of brilliant, creative people in London.
The canal is all that separates Google from 3,500 art students. Photo courtesy of INK-Allford Hall Monaghan Morris. (Click Image To Enlarge)
Allford says.
“The point is if there’s 3,500 students, they [Googlers] might form a relationship with Central Saint Martins. You come to a city to meet people who aren’t like you, who are different and have different ways of seeing the world. The street life is incredibly important for why you live in a city. Taking that idea of life into the building and social space and what Google call positive friction. You want people to get to their desk and do work, you want them to get around, but you don’t want them to miss each other.”
The plan is to make an office so nice you never want to leave. Photo courtesy of INK-Allford Hall Monaghan Morris. (Click Image To Enlarge)
It is also plugged into larger networks. From Kings Cross, Googlers can get to Cambridge, home to Britain’s tech hardware sector and chipmakers such as ARM — or Microsoft Research, which is just outside Cambridge station — in 45 minutes. From St Pancras station, on the other side of Google’s HQ, they can take the Eurostar to Brussels (capital of the European Union and useful for lobbying eurocrats) or to Paris (Eurodisney) in just two hours.
Googlers could conceivably commute to work from bucolic Cambridge — or Paris. Photo courtesy of INK-Allford Hall Monaghan Morris. (Click Image To Enlarge)
The building will remain inherently flexible, says Allford.
“We’ve talked with Google about theater, stage set, and props: The building is the theater. It lasts 100 years. The stage set is the auditorium. It lasts 20 years and is a building within the building. The props are — the little meeting rooms, the furniture, all this, which ideally you could reconfigure overnight.”
The idea is to have a dynamic, flexible space defined by the people who occupy it, not the other way around.
The building stretches 1,082 feet from end to end — as long as the Shard is tall. Photo courtesy of Allford Hall Monaghan Morris. (Click Image To Enlarge)
It can hold 4,500 employees, more than twice the total number of Googlers in London. The building will be ready in 2016. Until then, London-based Googlers will continue to be split between two offices at Victoria and one off Charing Cross Road.
COMMENTARY: Compared to Google's other offices here in the U.S. and overseas, the new Lonon headquarters office looks more corporate "steel and glass" than what we are accustomed to seeing. Apple's new Spaceship headquarters building, now under construction, will cost $5 billion plus (latest estimate), but will house approximately 12,000 staffers. That's an average of $416,667 per employee. On the other hand, Google's new london office will cost $1 billion with a capacity to house 4,500 employees. That's an average of $222,222 per employee. That's considered a bargain given London's skyrocketing real estte prices.
Courtesy of an article dated November 1, 2013 appearing in Mashable
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