Glidehouse Homes Designed for Clean and Simple Green Living
“Our homes embrace the principles of eco-friendliness and cost-effectiveness, without sacrificing beauty. We can ensure that each dwelling achieves a gold or platinum LEED rating, depending on the particular finishes, building systems, and site design an owner chooses.” ~ Michelle Kaufmann Designs
Each Glidehouse home is solar ready with other renewable energy system options possible such as geothermal, wind generator or hybrid systems. Designed for clean, simple living. The Glidehouse is built in a factory, using the most modern and environmentally friendly building methods and materials.
Some eco features of the Glidehouse include:
- using healthy finishes such as non-toxic paints and formaldehyde-free cabinetry.
- it meets the Energy Star® program standards for energy efficient homes and meets the performance standards of the American Lung Association Health House program.
- it’s insulated with an air-barrier, open cell foam insulation, and all wood-to-wood framing joints are caulked, which makes the home airtight, energy efficient, and less likely to produce mold.
- it uses water-saving plumbing fixtures, on-demand water heaters, and a mechanical ventilation system that is 30% more efficient than typical forced-air systems.
- energy efficient, dual-pane glass windows and doors are placed throughout the home to maximize cross-ventilation and natural lighting, minimizing the need for artificial lighting and climate control.
More appealing Glidehouse options are the open sliding doors and opposite clerestory windows that create cross-ventilation in main living spaces which feature a long, sliding glass door wall, allowing natural light and air flow. Overall, the materials and systems not only create a healthy environment, but also significantly reduce costs for cooling, heating and water bills.
Some of the interior design elements include:
- warm materials and clean lines that create a thoughtful, peaceful environment.
- bedrooms that have clerestory windows and sliding glass doors promoting natural light and ventilation.
- kitchen windows that wash the surfaces with natural light.
- bathrooms with skylights and windows.
- storage bars along one side of the living spaces, which maximize organized storage, for neat living spaces.
- gliding wood doors in front of the storage bars that slide open to reveal easily accessible storage for any media, clothing or other items to keep tidy.
The beautiful, eco-friendly Glidehouse home is constructed off-site and Michelle Kaufmann Designs shares their Glidehouse guarantee:
“Glidehouse is nationally recognized as a contemporary, sustainable residence, setting the standard for pre-fabricated architecture. From design to construction, this home has been designed to harmonize with nature for clean, green, healthy living and to stand the test of time. The Glidehouse home proves that a low maintenance, sustainable residence can be high-quality, well designed, and cost effective.”
It always comes down to cost, doesn’t it?
I know the article says “cost effective” more than once, but it never gives an approximation for cost.
Dollars per square foot.
If you don’t know the square foot approximate price, how can you say it is cost effective?
Everything is cost effective if you have the money for it.
So, all I’m asking is if you are saying it is cost effective, have a square foot price so that all of us can get a better understanding of what you are trying to communicate.
You are aware that Michelle had to close her company down, aren’t you?
Really? Looks like Michelle is doin great setting up living spaces and sharing on her blog: http://blog.michellekaufmann.com/
I thought it was clear that the alternative energy options and overall design make these prefab modules cost effective, but true, an up front per-square-foot price would be nice.
Yes, as she says on her blog, they are shutting down. It looks like she is finishing up projects that were already in the works.
http://blog.michellekaufmann.com/?p=2147
Oh dear, that is sad, my apologies for not catching it. I will say that the Glidehouse design serves as a cool case study for architecture students interested in designing with eco in mind from the inside out. I hope her joint ventures are successful as she says in the post above: “we are talking to a few larger players in the homebuilding world about potentially having them continue with our preconfigured designs like the Glidehouse, mkLotus, and mkSolaire” so that’s cool.
Yes, Michelle did have to close her studio due to the poor economy. However, not too long after she closed the doors to her studio, she joined forces with BluHomes. So you can still get all of her floorplans from MKDesigns, they’ll just have the “BluHomes” label on them.
All is not lost.
Keep up the Good Work Michelle!
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