HousingWatch

Cutting-Edge Materials for the Home

Kaomi Goetz — 2010-02-08T12:50:00 00:00

Filed under: Design

Creating a truly unique home is one of the joys of home ownership. Many seeking to personalize their residences in an unmistakable way do so by settling on an unusual paint color, a trip to the antique fair or an estate sale for a stand-out find, or decorate with mementos from travels.

But what if you had a budget that allowed you to think big? Not just concerning yourself with what goes on the walls, but what the walls are made of? Global materials consultancy Material Connexion has scoured the world to confer their annual Material of the Year awards, and this year's finalists offer up some intriguing possibilities.
The winner, Concrete Cloth, is a kind of cement with flexible fabric technology that molds quickly to set into permanent and lasting shapes. "With the simple addition of water, Concrete Cloth makes it possible to create safe, durable, non-combustible structures for a wide range of commercial, military and humanitarian uses," says Andrew Dent, vice president, Library & Materials Research at Material ConneXion. For example, the cloth could create insulated shelters in a short amount of time for use as a shelter or food storage structure - infrastructure greatly needed in areas of crisis and disaster.

Infigure is a breakthrough in creating wood veneer finishes. Homeowners and designers wishing to truly personalize any wood interiors could add one of what appears to be a limitless number of patterns and other designs to the veneer finish without damaging the actual wood.

For some real curb appeal, Quin Media Arts and Sciences, of Vancouver has created large-scale textural and 3D visual effects on exterior rainscreen cladding. The metal finishes create images that can change based on lighting or the viewer's perception. Principal Roderick Quin suggests the surfaces could even be used in interiors, for an eye-catching room divider or backdrop. Paint or printed graphics no need apply.

And Xylogramm, by German firm Keil GmbH, has come up with decorative panels that also display visual and dimensional effects. But the added bonus here, is Xylogramm, with its art-inspired designs, also acts as a sound-proofing material, perfect for the home or commercial audio studio, or any place that needs shielding from outside noise.

The winning material, the finalists and an entire library of materials can be viewed at Material Connexion's exhibition, MEDIUM Award for Material of the Year 2009, in New York City through February 19.

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Cool Radiators Get Hot

Kaomi Goetz — 2010-02-03T13:13:00 00:00

Filed under: Design

Pierre Lemieux got into the business of repurposing cast-iron radiators to save what he considers a lost art form.

"I kept seeing these old, architecturally beautiful radiators going to scrap," says the owner and brains behind, EcoRad, a Canadian company he started nearly 30 years ago to save and re-use the historical artifacts.

Cast iron radiators date back to the mid 1800s and designed with a steam system that connected to a boiler. As the water boiled, steam filled the radiator, conferring heat. But as homes modernized, the radiators were often sent to the trash heap.

Today, Lemieux is breathing new life into these antique gems.He retrofits the iron beauties with a heating element that gives off energy-efficient radiant heat. The repurposed radiators are controlled with a programmable thermostat which will make them give off just the right amount of heat. Lemieux says the process uses 99 percent recycled materials. Not only does salvaging the old radiators save us all from the greenhouse gases produced from melting them down, owning an EcoRad original saves the consumer money and certainly beats the alternative. Lemieux says forced or convection heated air isn't as comfortable as radiant heat. The former merely pushes around air, dust and disease.

"I think our ancestors architectural finesse for cast iron was great. Especially that what came out of Modern America from the 1850s to 1920s from Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Boston," Lemieux marvels. "Our forefathers really studied heating at a time when homes were less insulated, they knew what they were doing."

So who's buying them? Lots of folks, from fellow Canucks to Minnesotans to Philadelphians. EcoRad works on-site and repurposes existing radiators or sources among the local supply and estimate that the process takes four to eight weeks. And if you need more incentive to go retro, EcoRad also has its own vintage stock, with their oldest radiators dating back to 1850.

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Philippe Starck's Scheme for Home Wind Power

Kaomi Goetz — 2010-02-01T11:32:00 00:00

Filed under: Design

Forget about toasters and other energy-sucking devices. French designer Philippe Starck, who has made a name for himself in stylized household goods for a plethora of retailers including Target and Microsoft, has now set his sights on small, wind turbines for residential use.

Starck is teaming up with Italian energy parts maker Pramac to create "Revolutionair" vertical axis turbines that can be used in yards, gardens or on rooftops to generate power.

The mini-turbines come in two styles: one is rectangular (and reminds us a little of Dyson's Air Multiplier bladeless fan) and the other is reminiscent of an egg beater. They range in power from 400 watts to 1 kilowatt-hour of energy and with a starting cost of about $3,500 each, they're not cheap. But maker Pramac is optimistic of their street value.

"Unlike larger turbines, RevolutionAir turbines are independent from the wind direction and can take advantage of turbulence, besides being extremely quiet," the company stated.

Still, getting a turbine won't be enough to power your entire home. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, an average household consumes about 11,000 kW per year, at an estimated annual cost of $900.

But Starck clearly wants to be part of the solution. "We have to help people to produce energy, to be part of the fight...Energy should not be a punishment, we should crate a desire [among people to produce it]," he recently said at a Milan news conference.

To be sure, the designer has developed somewhat of a cult following for his sleek interiors, furniture and home products, like the Juicy Salif fruit juicer. Collectors of the House de Starck will likely be on board. But they'll have to wait just a little longer. Details of where to purchase the turbines have not yet been released.

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Home Addition Made Simple

Kaomi Goetz — 2010-01-29T16:28:00 00:00

Filed under: Design

It's a shed. It's a work studio. It's a bedroom for your mother-in-law. Yes!

We're talking about pre-fabricated home additions by the Seattle-based Modern Shed. These structures are unattached to the primary home and can range from uninsulated traditional storage sheds to the more finished 'modern shed' complete with glass doors, windows and maple plywood walls. This company is filling the void for consumers who don't want the headache and, often, higher cost of adding on to their existing home.

Architect Ryan Grey Smith, 37, started the business by his own necessity. A decade ago, he and his wife needed more space but didn't dare mess with their lovely ranch-style mid-century Seattle home. "In Seattle, with these older homes, the last thing you want to do is tear apart your home," Smith says. Not finding any on the market that he liked, Smith decided to put his design background to use and build his own. A few years later, a client was over but scratched the plans in favor of Smith's shed. The business was born.

The Modern-Shed boasts clean lines and architectural touches such as a raised roofline for more sunlight. The basic studio shed is 10 x 12 feet. They're insulated and depending on size, are priced from $15,000 to 30,000, with or without the option of assembly, which takes the Modern-Shed team usually 3-5 days. That's potentially a cheaper alternative than a traditional home addition, which can run tens of thousands of dollars more. The eco-conscious buyer even has options for recyclable and formaldehyde-free materials.

Modern-Shed's sales range upwards of $500,000 a year, which Smith surmises is relatively good, given the general state of the housing industry. And he's sold his sheds all over the United States, from Texas to New York.

"People aren't buying 400,000 houses much anymore. They're staying where they are and adjusting where they live."

The sheds also give people the option to work from home, as Smith has, from his office shed. He's a mere 20 steps from his home but says it feels more like a block. He says just having to go outside to get to the shed can give people the separation from home they need to fight cabin fever. Another trick?

"A separate phone line," Smith says.

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The Giant Tiny House Blog

Kaomi Goetz — 2010-01-29T11:52:00 00:00

Filed under: Design

Kent Griswold hasn't turned his dream into reality - yet - but he's making a living blogging about it. His passion? Tiny houses. And he may have hit on something.

Griswold, 51, started his blog, Tiny House Blog, a few years ago just to have a place to put his assorted photos and links collected during years of fantasizing about owning a cabin home in the mountains.

Now, in just the past year, his blog is receiving triple the number views, from five to 6,000 unique visitors each day. Griswold tries to keep up a steady nearly-daily posting of interesting tiny home solutions, from build-it-yourself options that range from a 102 sq. foot number with a building plan that starts at $859, to a 16' x 20' Vermont cottages to micro lofts.

And there's an ever-increasing amount of readers who are more than happy to share their own stories. Griswold thinks the economic downturn is responsible for the building-small craze."I think for a lot of people, it's a dream of simplifying. Having a mortgage-free home is the ultimate dream," the Healdsburg, CA resident says. "A lot of [the featured homes] are on wheels [for mobility], and with the economy the way it's been, the site hits many of these concerns."

The blogger agrees that the current trend is all about simplifying one's home and down-sizing square footage. After decades of "bigger is better," he says the recession has sparked a new desire for simplicity. "So many people lost those big homes, they went into mortgages they couldn't afford, and the builders and bankers were pushing those homes. Now people are getting back to the 'good old days,' where one built their own home using their own money," Griswold says. "People want to take more control of their finances."

Griswold is also interested in exploring how small homes can offer solutions for communities beyond the hobbyist or personal home-builder. He's blogged about tiny shelters that can be used in disaster areas such as Haiti or for homeless shelters.

The Tiny House Blog's large jump in viewers has generated advertising revenue which means Griswold can focus his energies on blogging full-time. And he still dreams about his own tiny space. "One day," he says he'll own that cabin on the mountain, and his blog will have everything to do with it.

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Bloomberg's Plan to Change Your Shelter

Kaomi Goetz — 2010-01-26T16:56:00 00:00

Filed under: Design, News, Cities

No visitor or local in New York City can avoid the city's ubiquitous "sidewalk sheds," those unsightly wood-and-scaffolding structures put up to protect pedestrians during building renovations around Gotham. Whether at the entrance of your apartment building or wrapped around your favorite retail outlet these eyesores are ever-present.

But now sidewalk sheds are getting a much-needed makeover.Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently announced first-year University of Pennsylvania architecture student Young-Hwan Choi, 28, as the winner of the urbanSHED International Design Competition. Sponsored by The New York City Buildings Department and the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter, this design competition sought fresh designs that improve the current pedestrian walkway experience while keeping within current city regulations. It also looked for ideas that were sustainable, weather-proof, and cost-effective with 'sidewalk' appeal.

Choi's winning submission "Urban Umbrella" fans out like its namesake and can be customized to scale for particular buildings and sidewalks. The canvas part of the umbrella-like structure will feature UV-stabilized film that can feature different graphics and colors. "The roof system is a canvas for public art," Choi has said.

"The new structures will complement the city's architectural beauty rather than take away from it, while increasing space and safety for pedestrians," the mayor said in a statement. He also noted the re-design is consistent with the city's image as a center for innovation and creativity. City building officials also point out the new design should please building owners because it's less bulky, keeping more of the building in sight while adding more space for pedestrians.

There are about 6,000 sidewalk sheds that span 1,000,000 feet in New York City. The city plans to approve the winning design as a new standard but can do little more than encourage the real estate and construction industries to follow suit. Officials say installing sheds with the new design costs about the same as the current model, but offers savings in long-term maintenance.

Rain or shine, a prototype of Choi's umbrella-like creations should be opening up around the city this summer.

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