MWBa

I am (very) late in posting this. It has been a busy season.

On December 7 2012 I received the email from the USGBC indicating our Platinum status. What a relief!

Achieving LEED certification is fairly straightforward but it requires planning, execution and follow up. I need to thank the members of our team who contributed toward the success of this certification.

Thanks go first to Tom for having the desire to do something different and share it with the world, and the tenacity it required to keep going. It is, after all, for the betterment of the world that he went through all this! He’ll be sharing for a long time. It is a very generous project. Thank you Tom.

Thanks go to my design team engineer Greg Wayland.

Thanks to the builders. The project would have been very different were it not for Ben Bressack, Building Contractor and John Andrews, welder, who led the container efforts. Thanks also to Jim Kesl, Jim White and Jeremy Brown for a can-do anything attitude.

Thanks to the City of Gainesville, Building Department, under the leadership of Building Official Doug Murdock and Inspector Tom Panico, for being a true partner in the building process; for finding solutions rather than problems. Thanks for the support of Planning and Development Director Erik Bredfeldt and Planning Manager Ralph Hilliard.

Thank you to Jennifer Langford, AIA, CNU, PA and the USGBC Heart of Florida Chapter for sponsoring and coordinating a few of our public tours.

Finally, and not least, thanks to our green team, led by Mary Alford, PE, LEED AP, for their ideas, suggestions, tracking and accountability. Helping along the way were Mike Amish (now with Sustainable UF), Tricia Kyzar, Theresa Spurling-Wood.

If you are interested to see what it takes, or maybe go after it yourself, see the information visit the USGB site, LEED for Homes!

Tom’s shipping container home is in the news again! Check out the coverage at http://firstcoastnews.com.

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Tom officially made 1238kwh and used 410kwh last month. That is 3 times what he used. The pecan tree has grown more than he expected and is creating some shade so he is losing up to 10kwh a day. Trade-offs! He will do some careful pruning in January. Exterior painting continues over the next few weeks.

Tom’s house made press again!

The article focuses on the “inner” beauty of the house; how it functions as an environmentally efficient machine.

http://www.gainesvilletoday.com/2012-april/2012/04/04/green-home/

Fox Residence Open House 02 25 2012

Despite the harsh cold of winter morning, the open house was a success. Over 500 + Gainesville residences came to support the container house. The Open House started strong with guided tours by the architect and owner. Tours were short but elaborate, roughly 20 minutes each. Visitors were informed of spatial programmings and sustainable design concepts of the project. With minimal restrictions [safety purposes], visitors were free to explore independently within the three story structure. The itinerary of tours ended on the roof top deck with visitors gazing over downtown Gainesville wondering what future has in store for container constructions.

Here are some pictures from the Open House.

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Container Guest House [DAY 30] 12 07 2011

Installation of Glass Door Railing + Closure of Roof Top

The deadline is rapidly approaching. Every one is passionately rushing to complete their tasks.Installation of glass door railings were effortless.

Due to slight offsets of containers’ roof beams a narrow opening was left between the units. To abide the harsh rain and storm of Florida, a SAS [Styrene Butadiene Styrene] modified roofing system was installed to resist water penetration.

Here are some pictures of the installation process.

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20120224/ARTICLES/120229700?p=all&tc=pgall

Comments from the architect…

As with most reporting, things don’t come across like you mean it.  The following quote was from a conversation regarding the home’s construction. The article reads, “Once you get inside the house,” he said, “it’s fairly conventional.” However, the design of the interior is spatially crafted to fit the owner’s specific needs, provide light, air, view and allow minimum heat gain all within the constraints of the container form. It is not “conventional” in that sense. The interior is, however, constructed using conventional materials (2x4s and drywall)!

Why even ask if it is an eyesore? …especially in the articles title. What title sets the tone! You can do better than that! Chad, there is more to your article than “controversy!” I’ll never understand why the press gives so much space to the one and only nay-sayer in the neighborhood…

How about this title, “Gainesville Residence proposes a different way to think about home”.

Please come see this overwhelmingly positive addition to Gainesville’s way of life!

MWBa Entry to the Florida Foundation for Architecture 4th Annual Design Competition 2011

CSH/FL Case Study Housing for Florida: Sustainable by Necessity

With the goal to re-define the notion of the ‘Florida House’ for the 21st century, the Florida Foundation for Architecture embarked on a design competition program in the summer of 2011  to explore the concept of integrating affordability and sustainability in the design of single family infill housing for neighborhoods and communities throughout Florida.

The Program:

The minimum programmatic requirements for the home are as follows.

• 1,500 square foot maximum conditioned area (air conditioned space)
• living/ dining space
• kitchen
• three bedrooms
• two bathrooms
• utility/laundry space
• optional garage/ carport – may be attached or a separate structure
• sustainable features must be incorporated into the solution
• elements of “universal design” are encouraged
• Design for typical lot dimensions of at least 30 feet wide and 130 feet deep, with 5 foot side yard setbacks and 10 foot front & rear setbacks.
• A realistic cost per square foot budget analysis demonstrating that the entrant’s design can conceivably be constructed within a $60 to $70 per square foot cost range. Land cost is to be excluded from the budget analysis.
• Utilization of sustainable construction materials, methods and details must be incorporated.
• Utilization of LEED for Homes criteria is recommended but not required

Here is a link to the project post at Co-tain… http://co-tain.com/aia-csh-comp-proposal-by-mwba-and-co-tain/

Please don’t miss this opportunity. This will be the last tour session (famous last words). The building permit is closed out, final LEED inspections and testing are underway and Tom is working through the details (finishes, millwork and paint). It’s not finished, but it’s finished enough! Come see this one of a kind Gainesville home. 612 SW 5th Terrace Gainesville Florida (click for a map). Please park in the block north of the site.

Container Guest House [DAY 29] 12 06 2011

Installation of Windows + Studs

29 days had passed since the initial proposal to the client. The anchoring of the foundation is finished, the containers are fastened together and the construction of interior is underway.

The carpenter on this project is an interesting individual, he is also an former-landscape designer. One could not ask for a better person for the job. He took on this project as if it was his own child, nurturing and caring for every cut and joint. “Perfection” is his model.

Here are some pictures of the construction process.

Material was carefully removed from the container floor to recess the sliding glass doors.