mkarchitecture - EE.UU.

El diseño se basa en la idea general de una casa pequeña, moderna y sustentable, influenciada por la arquitectura rural de Iowa y por la obra de Charles Eames y de Joseph Eichler (un exitoso promotor inmobiliario de los 50 y 60 que introdujo ideas racionalistas en la producción comercial de viviendas).

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Su nombre deriva de las puertas corredizas que caracterizan formal y funcionalmente el proyecto.

Los modelos posibles de dos o tres dormitorios se desarrollan en superficies de entre 125 y 145 m2.
El diseño de la casa admite variantes propuestas por el cliente, siempre respetando las medidas máximas del módulo básico, alterando la disposición de divisiones interiores y agrupando módulos en diversas formas.
Todas las variantes parten de una caja básica o volumen prismático, manteniendo así el beneficio de la producción a escala, pero según cómo estas se agrupen el partido puede ser en L, en U o simplemente en una pastilla.

En la pared opuesta a la pared vidriada se ubica la barra de almacenamiento. La misma pared incluye armarios que liberan espacios diáfanos. Michelle Kaufmann afirma que esta idea nace del trabajo junto a Frank Gerhy en el desarrollo de museos. Espacios limpios con almacenamiento accesible y cercano.

El módulo básico, de unos 4,5 x 16 metros, es transportado hasta el emplazamiento con un 85 a 90% de acabado en su construcción.
Desde la compra, toma de tres a cuatro meses construir un prototipo en fábrica. In situ toma menos de un día descargar y reunir las partes. Luego de dos semanas más se completa la instalación de los sistemas eléctricos, de agua y cloaca.

Michelle Kaufmann, de 35 años, ha realizado un master en arquitectura en la Universidad de Princeton y ha trabajado para Frank Gehry en Los Angeles durante cinco años. De él hereda la fusión de materiales industriales rústicos y refinados. Actualmente dirige su propio estudio mkarchitecture.

mkarchitecture
www.mkd-arc.com
mkarchitecture en arkinetia

Fotos: MBR Studios
www.mbrstudios.com
MBR Studios en arkinetia

www.glidehouse.com
www.livemodern.com/glidehouse
www.fabprefab.com/fabfiles/fablist/031_Glidehouse_FL/glidehousestatus/glidehousestatus.htm

Texto original en inglés::

When architect Michelle Kaufmann moved to the Bay Area to join her husband last year, they quickly became frustrated trying to find a home that they could afford and was eco-friendly. After six months of looking at $600,000 fixer-uppers, Michelle took matters into her own hands. She designed a prefabricated, modern style home that had all the “green” features that the couple considered important, and could be constructed to the strict San Francisco building codes including seismic requirements and energy efficiency. With the help of Live Modern, the Glidehouse is now available for sale to others. A number of modular builders are fabricating the Glidehouse throughout many US states and Canada, making it one of the very few modern designs available. The house was available for tours May 15-16 at the Sunset Magazine Celebration Weekend and brought in more than 20,000 visitors during the two days.
“The current real estate market demonstrated to us that there are very few options available to people like ourselves and our friends for a new type of housing alternative,” said Kaufmann. “We feel we’ve done for pre-fabricated homes what Ikea has done for furniture and Volkswagen has done for cars which translates to intelligent design at affordable prices. The old trailer park myth of pre-fab homes is history, since most homes in today’s marketplace are at least partially pre-fabricated. Our designs are smart and modern, our workmanship is of the highest quality, we are totally energy efficient and sustainable and every home is built to local codes. It’s time that people have an alternative for home ownership. We think it’s the Glidehouse.”
The Glidehouse offers an affordable, low-maintenance, well-designed green housing alternative, in four different sizes – 672 sf for a 1-bedroom, 1,344 sf for a 2-bedroom, 1,560 sf for a 3-bedroom and a 2,016 sf courtyard version. It can be configured to either fit on an open lot with views, with glass walls that open onto the landscape. Or, it can adjust to a more dense, urban lot, which would feature glass walls that open onto two private courtyards, insuring privacy from neighbors.
“With Glidehouse, the work is done at a factory, to local code, and delivered within six months of receipt of the down payment,” Kaufmann continued. “It’s very user and environmentally friendly and gives the homeowner exactly what they want. And, a hidden bonus is that it’s virtually waste free. Statistics tell us that 30% of materials of homes built on-site is wasted, while there is 100% efficiency of materials used for pre-fabricated homes.”
Designed to maximize organized storage, the configuration of the Glidehouse reduces clutter and increases the feeling of living ‘clean’ and ‘light,’ through the simple construction of a bar on one side for flexible storage of media, literature, clothing and cooking objects.
“The storage bar allows living spaces to remain clear and uncluttered,” said Kaufmann. “The opposite wall has gliding glass doors which offer maximum views and blurs the boundary between interior and exterior. This kind of clean strategy offers flexibility for people who want to customize the storage bar components to make the Glidehouse suitable to their specific needs. It can either be used for storage or to increase the living area.”
In addition to its clean living and flexibility, the Glidehouse is also designed to collaborate with nature through a design that is based on basic sustainable design principals. The house is planned as a series of shallow buildings to allow maximum natural ventilation. Through the use of the gliding glass wall and the operable clerestory windows, located on the opposite side above the storage bar, breezes are maximized and indirect lighting minimizes the need for electric lighting. Depending on the location, the house can either have solar panels, a wind generator or a hybrid system. In some cases, homeowners can hook up with their local utility to sell stored energy and then buy it back on cloudy days.
“Through sustainable design and solar, geothermal or wind generator equipment, Glidehouse can reduce, and sometimes eliminate, utility bills,” said Kaufmann. “Since the Glidehouse is not dependent on a local utility for all its power, it widens the range of potential building sites.”
At $130/sf for the completed house from the factory, the Glidehouse is very affordable, considerably less than on-site construction. It arrives on truckloads, complete with exterior and interior finishes, plumbing fixtures and all lighting and electrical. The site work, including foundation and landscaping, can either be completed by a contractor or the homeowner.
“The Glidehouse expands homeownership possibilities appreciably, especially when you look at the options that are currently available,” said Kaufmann. “You can either buy an existing home, purchase a new home designed by a developer or hire an architect to design your dream home. Most people don’t have the time or the money for the last option, since it involves the lengthy process of design, permitting, code compliance measures and inspections. With Glidehouse, you can have an architect designed home, customize it as desired but not have all the hassles of on-site construction. It’s an ideal option in today’s real estate market.”


© 2005 Michelle Kaufmann Designs.