The mkLotusâ„¢ modular home welcomes visitors to West Coast Green, a residential building show and expo taking place Sept 19-22 in San Francisco. The prefab was built entirely off-site, using sustainable, high-performance building materials and delivered about a week prior to the show. Designed by noted prefab architect Michele Kaufman, the house demonstrates the potential modular construction has to offer. The era of the "double-wide" may well be over. According to the designer, modular construction reduces construction waste by 50-75%, reduces construction time, and increase quality control and predictability of time and cost. Photos from my tour are up on Flickr.
The 1-bedroom, 1-bath home is built using long-lasting cement board panels, a wood siding rain screen, and decking material made from wood flour and high-density polyethylene. A green (living) roof coupled with rain water catchment and a gray water (sinks, shower water) system conserves water. Foam insulation and an on-demand water heater make the home energy efficient. LED lighting uses minimal energy and last 90x longer.
Non-VOC paint improves indoor air quality. Wood flooring throughout is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. The shower and bathroom flooring are made from recycled glass. Believe it or not, the vanity counter and integral sink are composed of porcelain from recycled toilets and other materials [see tour photos]. The toilet itself is dual flush, saving an estimated 2000 gallons of water/year.
The mkLotus home is surrounded by a native garden featuring locally sourced recycled/reused materials, drought tolerant vegetation, and a native plant catchment basin to capture rain water. Stay tuned for more posts about innovative green products from the show.
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written by Brian Green, September 25, 2007
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