Comments on: PREFAB FRIDAY: Zero-Energy MkLotus debuts!

By: greenhouse

greenhouse — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 10:43:19 +0000

so is there are quite a lot of discarded urban trees up your way?! hey mike lee if you interested in having something like this or better built in nz dont blow it with air miles.. please contact me and i would be happy to quote on this plan or whatever you want. cheers djtodd@slingshot.co.nz

By: Inhabitat: Pictures From West Coast Green « Westcoastgreen’s Weblog

Inhabitat: Pictures From West Coast Green « Westcoastgreen’s Weblog — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 21:01:24 +0000

[...] Green conference in San Francisco, we were lucky enough to not only get a sneak peek of the new Michelle Kaufmann mkLotus prefab house, but also to speak with the designer herself to get the low-down on the sleekly-designed zero [...]

By: Inhabitat » TOP 10 GREEN DESIGN STORIES OF 2007

Inhabitat » TOP 10 GREEN DESIGN STORIES OF 2007 — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 18:15:34 +0000

[...] 2. GREEN PREFAB CONQUER THE WORLD After the success last year of Steve Glen’s and Ray Kappe’s Living Home eco prefab, we were not surprised to see the worlds of green building and prefab construction coming together in 2007. This year, prefab designer extraordinaire Michelle Kaufman took green prefab to new heights by debuting her zero energy mkLotus design at West Coast Green in September. The compact home doesn’t compromise style or energy efficiency, using solar panels, recycled materials, LED lights, a green roof, water recycling system, green landscaping and even a plug for your electric vehicle! [...]

By: mike lee

mike lee — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 00:40:59 +0000

can the mkLotus be exported(flat pack) to new zealand ?

By: Inhabitat » PREFAB FRIDAY: Michelle Kaufmann’s mkLoft design

Inhabitat » PREFAB FRIDAY: Michelle Kaufmann’s mkLoft design — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 08:43:23 +0000

[...] is a big fan of Michelle Kaufmann (MKD)’s eco-pre-fab designs. We previously featured her mkLotus design during its debut at West Coast Green in San Francisco this past September, and we are now pleased [...]

By: Scott Martin

Scott Martin — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 20:23:33 +0000

How would these systems work in a climate like Northern Michigan? I am partners in an Energy Efficient Panelized Building Company called Insulex Panel Systems, Inc. and I am always looking to learn more. We have been designing and erecting energy effecient buildings since 1982.

Please Advise,

Scott Martin
Insulex Panel Systems, Inc.

By: Bernie Lenhoff

Bernie Lenhoff — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 00:00:23 +0000

Hi madtrait,

Regarding the water reuse, there are two components here: the interior recycling system, and the exterior rainwater catchment system, which they’ve labeled as “gray water” in the photos above. I suggest you contact Nick Thayer of Late Afternoon Garden Designs who designed the mkLotus landscaping for info on the entire exterior system.

If you are referring to the catchment pool in the photos above, I agree it looks great. I believe it is intended to get its water from roof runoff. My company (Green Waste Recycle Yard) provided the wood timbers, which were milled from local discarded urban trees (Monterey Pines in this case). Nick devised a way to use a pond liner with the timbers to create the pool. These timbers are untreated, so I don’t know how long they would hold up in a real world application.

The objects in the center of the pool are the recycled bottoms of Gray Goose vodka bottles, I believe from Red Shovel Glass Company.

Here are two lists of all contributors to the showhouse:
http://www.sunset.com/sunset/home/article/0,20633,1665943,00.html
http://www.mkd-arc.com/homes/mklotus/contributors.php

By: donell montgomery

donell montgomery — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 15:13:31 +0000

could we have the spec’s on the house so everyone can learn from this..Gray water systems, walls and such..this way everyone can evaluate the best use for their intended market and environment.

By: Griff Bowie

Griff Bowie — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 20:50:19 +0000

Are there any designs which are affordable? Or are these just for those who have the means?

By: claire

claire — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 14:52:27 +0000

The “shell” costs $125 for 700 square feet. $225K for the upgraded package. Double that for the 2 br version. I sure hope it comes with closets. A great design!

By: madtrait

madtrait — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 22:01:51 +0000

Does anyone have more information on the gray water filtration system they used here. It looks great and I would like to try to put something like this in my home.

By: Dave De Puy

Dave De Puy — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 20:18:54 +0000

To the comment from genkiRobo about who needs monitoring of consumption in a 700 sq foot home, I would postulate that we all should monitor and control our consumption in any size space.

In this case, size is not the issue.

By: West Coast Green « The Las Vegas Wash

West Coast Green « The Las Vegas Wash — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 22:47:54 +0000

[...] I was, unfortunately, unable to attend the West Coast Green Conference in San Fransisco this last weekend. Some bloggers who attended have however written their thoughts on some of the ideas presented. Including the zero-energy prefab installed in front of City Hall(pictured). [...]

By: Fab PreFab « The Sunny Side of The Street

Fab PreFab « The Sunny Side of The Street — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 19:37:10 +0000

[...] Fab PreFab PREFAB FRIDAY: Zero-Energy MkLotus debuts! [...]

By: james blishen

james blishen — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 08:03:02 +0000

Was that a tumble dryer in the kitchen??!

By: genkiRobo

genkiRobo — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 17:30:46 +0000

One pressing thought I always have on these pre-fab’s: cost. It seems for the same size house you could easily build a more efficient, more green, more sustainable strawbale home, cut back on the exorbitant unnecessary accessories (digital monitoring the house- who needs that in 700sft space?!), and actually have an affordable home, about a third of the cost of this “modern trailer”. And besides the admittedly beautiful aesthetic look, why do all these “efficient” designs have floor to ceiling windows – the most inefficient thing I could think of on a house (sure you can pay four times the price of a regular window for efficient ones, but its something that wasn’t even necessary if the design was more about efficiency, less about voyeurism).

I know most of us don’t think on low budgets when having a home built – but if I had to decide between a 700sft strawbale home, or this modern single-wide, there’s little decision to make in my mind…

By: dianejwright

dianejwright — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 01:09:33 +0000

If Marshall, Michelle, or even “West Coast Green” is reading this, please provide a way to find out about interior furnishings, fixtures, and finishes please. For instance, what materials are being used in the bathroom? Looks to be recycled glass tiles and maybe Vetrazzo counters, but it’s hard to tell. Excellent use of the ecoresin sliding panels and hardware. It’s something I’m hoping to do quite soon but have concerns about the lack of substantial weight to the products. Anyone here have thoughts on that?

I’d like a page on the MKD site that shows (specifically) the options available for customization (tho’, from experience, I won’t hold my breath).
Thanks!

By: art davis

art davis — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 23:39:06 +0000

this looks a lot better than the renderings. it is a great summary of current products available. and it brings good light to the fact that once a home is getting most of its energy from solar then the car should be electric and charged from solar as well.
ceiling height is very important. we’ve known for ages about the positive psychological and functional effects.
but…what happens on the urban scale? humans can enjoy small square footage if there is a pleasant view and if you dont have to look right at another one of these 10 ft away or at a wall. this times 1 million in close proxemity in a city = ….well, do i have to recall the problems that have led to the worst of our problems, that of urban sprawl? or try 1 billion or 6 billion?
so, ultimately this is definitily not a green solution for the masses, nor do we want to have this in a remote wilderness or vacation location as opposed to a site specific, more creative design.
the goal of pre-fab or factory built is the profitability of mass production. that is not a good directive for finding great habitation design. nor does transporting habitat modules over long distances using the already congested highway system a good idea.
i thought everyone is supposed to be thinking global! even if we just think national, the US is sprawling at a terrible rate! the new urbanism movement woke some people up. oregon and portland…others. look at the new urbanism website now. its even more drastic! and there is good reason! single family homes and even worse, prefab single family homes set urban design back (well it was never really part of any intelligent urban design!) 50 years!
even if this appears to be a nice product; good design on a fractional scale, nice integration of everything at the latest green products convention…we cannot consider this to be a viable solution for habitat.
think 3-D urban structure and no cars within city.

art

By: 道

Sun, 23 Sep 2007 00:02:30 +0000

[...] read more | digg story [...]

By: Tom

Tom — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 22:27:51 +0000

Instead of stucco you should consider Urbanslabs GREEN exterior wall clad panels. Their product is 60% GREEN and uses recycled glass containers as a direct replacement for silica sand. The panels are .75″ thick (1cm) and come in a standard 8′ X 3′ size. They can be cut to size using a normal natural stone saw. They offer twelve colors.

This product uses very little Portland cement and no flyash. Natural minerals make up the matrix.