Perhaps the most noticeable aspect of Sierra Bonita, an affordable housing development in West Hollywood, is the facade-integrated solar array that powers most of the peak load electricity demand for the common areas. The building also has a solar-powered hot water heating system, but beneath the clearly visible green technology is a modern building with apartments fully adaptable for its disabled residents.
The USGBC recently held a competition for the design of an affordable, single-family house with between 720 and 880 square feet that meets the requirements of LEED Platinum certification. Local chapters chose 49 designs and a national jury picked two professional finalists and two student finalists. These four designs will be built in the Broadmoor neighborhood of New Orleans by enviRenew.
Perhaps you read a recent article in the NY Times on portable shelters. In the article, Jim Robbins discusses the relief housing efforts of a few organizations and companies that I've noticed over the years. These houses, often prefabricated and flat-packed, typically assemble in a short amount of time with simple, available tools. Check out these three home designs below and, if you're aware of any similar endeavors, feel free to share a link below.
I thought the ECObitat concept from Felipe Campolina was worth a look. ECObitat, a modular system capable of being applied to emergency or relief housing, features drop-down telescopic legs and a steel skeleton covered in OSB, thermoacoustic insulation, and greenery. Water and solar power is collected on the roof, while an Energy Ball captures on-site green energy. The set up is spartan but interesting nonetheless.
Sunset has the story on this off-grid, low-impact, affordable shelter built in the wilderness near Joseph, Oregon. The modern structure of 130 square feet, not counting the deck, was designed by Ryan Lingard and built in a couple weeks for roughly $10,000. Signal Shed has a wood stove, metal roof, cedar rainscreen, reused windows, portable toilet, and operable shutters.
This is Casa Dominguez, a new multifamily development in Los Angeles County. It’s actually the first LEED Platinum multifamily project in the county, according to non-profit developer and architecture firm Abode Communities. Located in East Rancho Dominguez, the project features a blend of one- to four-bedroom green apartments suited for low-income families.
Besting the efforts of nearly 3,100 architects worldwide, a team involving blaanc of Portugal and João Caeiro of Mexico won the Open Source House design competition with their entry “Emerging Ghana.” All of the entries are available online and Emerging Ghana, as a pilot project, is expected to be built by the end of this year.
Already 70% leased, this impressive 66-unit apartment project, Silver Gardens, is the first affordable housing development in New Mexico that has been designed and built to obtain LEED Platinum certification. Located on a reclaimed brownfield near bus and rail access, Silver Gardens boasts some impressive green elements.
Architect Arthur Dyson is working with construction management students at Fresno State to create an unprecedented “Eco-Village” of tiny homes for homeless folks. The homes will be made of recycled materials – pallet flooring and framing, waterproofed cardboard walls, aluminum can roofing – and some donated materials from Lowe’s, according to The Fresno Bee.
We've seen a lot of effort to provide emergency and long-term shelter for disaster areas. For Haiti in particular, some groups, like Shipping Container Housing and Green Container International Aid, are trying to reuse shipping containers to get people out of the elements and into something that can withstand hurricane season in a couple short months. The renderings shown here are from GCIA, who is seeking the donation of containers to construct container cities in the area.
