Looking down on the home's main living area from a loft. An open, sunny floor plan with an emphasis on using the outdoors as added living space is one of the design components at the "Smart Home: Green + Wired" home exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry.
The contemporary, loft-style, sustainable green home -- the mkSolaire -- was designed by Michelle Kaufmann Designs, based in Oakland, Calif. The three-story home, which has a big emphasis on using recycled and green materials, features architecture with varying heights, lots of windows and two facades -- dark-stained wood-planks (they look like clapboard with spaces in between) and concrete in light and dark shades.
The home has a master bedroom and two secondary bedrooms as well as a master bath, full bath and first-floor powder room. The first floor has an open floor plan with the kitchen opening to the family room (it's defined by a work island) then into the dining room and then the living room. A pair of large, accordion, glass doors open to a covered outdoor dining terrace. The attached 2-car garage, which is covered in carpet tiles by Chicago-based FLOR, does double duty as a theater room and has a television projector, a large screen for viewing and brown hemp bean bags to sit on.
The seven modules of the home were manufactured at the All American Homes construction facility in Decatur, Ind. Representatives from All American say they can build a home 60 percent faster and in a more environmentally friendly way than traditional site-built construction. Waste is reduced because much of the lumber arrives precut, reducing the need to dispose of "off-cuts." Drywall scrap is trucked to local farmers to use in preparing soil for planting, keeping it out of landfills.
"It was assembled in one day," said Anne Rasford, director of temporary exhibits for the museum. "Then it only took several days to button it up -- seal the home. We had a local contractor do the interior installing finishings like the limestone floor tiles on the first floor and the bamboo floors on the second and third levels."
The mkSolaire was designed as a healthy, green-living solution for the city, according to designer Michelle Kaufmann.
"It's kind of surprising to find out that buildings account for more greenhouse gas omission than autos," she said. "Although that's a scary fact, there is good news because we can make a difference in the choices we make. For example, we can make the home design feel larger and use less materials without building bigger.
"One way is to borrow space from the outdoors," said Kaufmann, pointing out the homes' green roof, covered terrace that opens to the living room, a courtyard and two balconies.
Kaufmann also believes in using renewable and recycled materials for home construction, such as bamboo flooring (it grows faster than trees) and kitchen countertops made of recycled paper.
Some of the home's energy-efficient products include Lcynene spray-foam insulation, Energy Star appliances, LED light fixtures, a radiant floor heating system and the use of a central light well that has a large fan to draw heat up and out of the house in the summer and heat down in the winter.
Celeste Busk
