Making Good Homes: A Scalable Solution

by Rolf Kielman

In the TruexCullins Home Studio, we are developing design solutions based on the concepts that we’ve been sharing with you over the past few weeks. As we explained in an April blog post, we’ve been working on the design of 3 different houses, each having similar components and spaces. The designs are intended to fit along a town or city street, placed in a village, or located in a more rural setting.

 

Our three models each have two floors and either a full or partial basement. Depending on buyer preference each house has a porch that covers the entry area and provides cover and transition from the street or public way.

 

The three houses range in size from 1400 square feet to 2100 square feet, with the middle option coming in around 1800 square feet. Each design provides spatial and value added options to ensure that each house can be easily expanded over time. This sketch shows how possible expansion could happen to the various models:

All of the designs present a long elevation to the south enabling natural solar light gain. This large, south facing expanse also provides roof surface for solar thermal and photovoltaic collectors. With proper attention to design and construction detail, these homes could easily achieve net-zero energy consumption standards, thereby ridding the owners of any utility bills.

TruexCullins is currently working with a builder and prospective client to construct several of these homes in a new neighborhood near Burlington that consists of an existing collection of historically based homes. Our designs connect with this historic character, although our intent in the long term is to design these homes to fit within any context.

First floor plan of 1400 square foot house

Making Good Homes: Beauty in Order

by Rolf Kielman

In a February blog post, Lee Grutchfield and I discussed the challenges involved in making good and affordable places to live. We’ve made some progress on this front, and we’re back to share what we’ve done to date.

The criteria, as we described it, is to design a home that is affordable, easy to build, healthy, beautiful, durable and energy efficient. We want to make these houses so they can be manufactured under controlled circumstances and then shipped in manageable parts to the building site. And we want to erect houses in 2 months rather than the 4-6 months often required for homes of modest proportion and size.

So together with Josh Chafe, our young and creative cohort, we have begun to define and execute homes that fulfill the criteria we described. Thus far we’ve been working with designs that are basically one room wide. We’ve looked at archtypes in the factory housing of Sheldon Springs, going back 25 years to work that Rolf did with Roland Batten, and we looked carefully at the houses strung along Mansfield Avenue in Burlington, Vermont. There are lessons in these houses worth studying, such as advantages in ventilation and ease of shipping attributable to building widths of one room.



We are also working on a standard system of dimensioning. This is not a new concept: witness Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usonian houses spread through portions of North America. Wright’s work exhibits both elegance and quiet beauty in the establishment of order and hierarchy. In this vein, we are utilizing modules of 48” increments and utilizing common window widths and room sizes to achieve this order.

In our work, we are utilizing a standard system of components applicable to homes of differing overall size. By this we mean that a single bathroom or kitchen layout can be used in a 1400 square foot house as well as one that is 1800 square feet. By using common components, we can drive down the cost and increase the efficiency.

In our sketches below we show 3 slightly different houses. They vary in size and program but have strong similarities. They exhibit options that will give home buyers discretion in how they arrange component parts. The designs can be pre-made or manufactured off site and they exhibit simple dimensioning systems that are economical and elegant. The designs run from 1400 to 2200 square feet and contain different program components for those with larger families or those who have chosen to work at home.

Our hope is to build several of these homes in a new development near Burlington. If you have suggestions, questions or comments, we would love to hear from you!

Making Good Homes: Conditions and Challenges

by Rolf Kielman

At TruexCullins we’ve spent decades contemplating the necessary requirements for good places to live. Twenty years ago we designed a series of modestly sized, affordable and energy efficient homes for a statewide competition sponsored by Housing Vermont. Now, we are picking up that banner again, developing the design for a prototypical home that meets all of the requirements and expectations of a modern-day family in an affordable and efficient package.

First, let’s define the criteria. What are our basic needs for the places where we live? The basic components of a house in Vermont include spaces to sleep, prepare and eat food, and wash ourselves and our clothes. Beyond these human necessities, we place great importance on having a comfortable place to socialize and entertain. Conversely, our homes are increasingly places where we work and study. The spaces just outside our homes are also valued, whether it’s a porch for protection from the elements or a garden within which to grow food and play. Finally, an auxiliary building such as a garage or shed is added to store vehicles and outdoor equipment. All of these components have come to be viewed as essential parts of our homes.

Second, we must come to term with the challenges we face. Externally, the need for shelter from our environment is perhaps more challenging now than it has ever been. Our climate is demanding and unpredictable, from the cold of winter to the heat and humidity of summer. Global climate change has brought an increase in extreme weather events that test the endurance of our structures, from flood to drought to the frequently returning 100-year storm. Meanwhile, the cost of fuels is accelerating, in economic costs and environmental costs. The physical land and materials with which we build our homes are also increasingly rare and expensive to come by.

We look forward to addressing these challenges over the next several months, continuing our exploration of designs for homes that sufficiently meet our needs while abundantly filling our souls. Ultimately, our goal is a product that could be acquired in any number of forms: a set of complete architectural plans for purchase at a modest cost; a set of component parts available for purchase with a manual for assembly; or even a complete home, pre-made and brought to the site ready for placement and occupancy.

In the meantime, you can expect that we will share our thoughts, present some designs, and keep you informed of our progress. We hope you enjoy this creative journey.