Alternative Housing: Lighthearted Links

The sun has set on McMansions according to real estate writer Steve Bergman in an article for NOLA.com. The decline of the appeal of gigantic homes began in 2006, but the collapse of the real estate market over the past five years has resulted in a change in housing priorities:

"The median-sized home being built today is smaller," reported Paul Bishop, vice president of research for the National Association of Realtors. "And our survey of homebuyers indicates that as well."

Problems getting financing and expenses involved with the upkeep of larger houses have contributed to their lessening appeal, but I'd like to think that an awareness of how much space we really need has fueled the increasing interest in smaller homes.

"Homeowners feel the days of appreciation are not coming back so they are not going to be purchasing homes just for the sake of investing," said Kermit Baker, chief economist with the American Institute of Architects and a senior research fellow at Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies. "Homebuyers are purchasing because of how they intend to use the home, on the basis of what they need. They are treating their home more like typical consumer goods rather than investment goods."

Although I've devoted many posts to housing and I think it's a topic worthy of serious consideration, sometimes it's fun to take a break and think of shelter in a completely different way. 

Eve Politanoff at What's up! trouvaillesdujour has three posts about treehouses along with an assortment of great pictures on her blog, including the "castle" above from Portland, Oregon, and an airplane hotel suite at the Costa Verde resort in Costa Rica.

Dai Haifei, a young Chinese architect, recently graduated and unable to afford the high cost of housing in Beijing, built a mobile egg-shaped, solar-powered house that he lived in for two months on the sidewalk near his employer.

Joyce Wadler at the NY Times wrote about Derek Diedricksen, who makes micro-shelters out of salvaged junk. His RelaxShacks blog provides more information about other building projects, his book, YouTube series and Tiny Shelter Building Workshop set for this summer.

Fast Company offers a post about a 90-square-foot minimalist loft with walls covered in . . . 25,000 ping pong balls! The space serves as a part-time bedroom for Daniel Arnshem, partner in the firm, Snarkitecture, where the loft is located.

And, finally, Strictly Paper offers an apartment made entirely out of cartons, white paint and black marker! It's a great artistic statement and timely social commentary.

Please click on the links to see many wonderful photos and learn more details about all of these clever "alternatives!"

City Living: Designed for Thoughtful Consumers?

Being a thoughtful consumer doesn't just mean making wise personal decisions about purchasing, recycling and donating; it also means contributing to making larger decisions about where and how you live and work. Wherever that may be, the built environment that houses and surrounds you is planned, efficiently or not so efficiently, and that affects you as a consumer and a citizen.

There's ample evidence that the practice of designing cities, what we call "urban planning," has been around for thousands of years. Once a sizable population gathered in one relatively small area, streets or paths were laid out in a grid pattern, drainage and other water use systems were set up, and sometimes walls were constructed for protection, all for the purpose of making city life work. Modern cities face a similar challenge to those of their predecessors: how should a city be built to provide the best possible environment for its inhabitants? There are issues of safety and functionality to be considered, but aesthetics are important, too. Jails are urban microcosms, but most of us wouldn't be happy to live in those surroundings, even if we weren't forcibly detained inside them.

Throughout the U.S., cities were the vibrant centers of community life for generations. But after decades of unprecedented rapid increases in both population and construction, eventually crowding and deterioration afflicted many urban areas. The process of "urban renewal" in the last century was a sporadically successful effort to reclaim some of the positive aspects of city life that had been lost.

The real blow to the perceived desirability of city living in the U.S. was the return of GIs after WW II and the development of the suburbs. The American Dream became defined by a single family home with a yard and, significantly, a car. Living outside of the city was made possible by the ability to commute. Cars and the highways created to accommodate them were the factors that most altered urban landscapes.

But now, years after many of our cities sprawled for miles, their centers collapsed and turned nightmarish, a renaissance of urban life has been occurring across the country. Is life at the center of the city "The Next American Dream?" That's the thesis of the interesting documentary of that title from filmmakers who examined the re-birth of Kansas City, Missouri, over the last several years. (See the brief trailer here.) I saw the show on a PBS station in the LA area recently, but you can check your local stations for broadcasts scheduled later this month.

While "The Next American Dream" examines the societal changes that are making cities more appealing again, an episode of the PBS series LIFE (Part 2) examines what sort of communities allow people to flourish and live longer-than-average life spans. (YouTube clip here.) Turns out that one of the important factors is living in a walkable community, something that's provided by an urban rather than rural environment. Reduction in obesity is cited as one of the benefits, but I would think that there are also advantageous social aspects. Part of the "French Paradox" may have to do with drinking red wine, but living in a walkable community and spending much time socializing at the local cafe probably help, too.

How would your life as a consumer change if you lived and worked in a well-designed city? Walking more and being able to rely on public transportation would mean better personal health, less consumption of fuel, even less need for owning a car. You'd eliminate the stress of a long commute. You'd probably be more inclined to patronize local businesses. Access to cultural events would be easier. You'd live in a smaller space and probably would own less useful stuff as well as less clutter. You'd share outdoor spaces like parks and plazas rather than maintaining your own yard. There might be community gardens, too. There would be potential for a very nice balance of private and public spaces. Much urban planning today also includes "sustainable development" that considers environmental impact while working simultaneously to achieve a workable, comfortable city life. What's good for you can also be good (well, at least not so bad) for the planet.

There are some excellent resources to peruse if you'd like to learn and think more about city life. I was pleased to discover that William H. Whyte's terrific book City: Rediscovering the Center was reissued in paperback last August. He also wrote The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces, a brilliantly insightful book (there's also an accompanying film) that was the result of his Street Life Project, "a pioneering study of pedestrian behavior and city dynamics."

Planetizen is a fascinating website that "prides itself on covering a wide number of planning, design, and development issues, from transportation to global warming, architecture to infrastructure, housing and community development to historic preservation. We provide a forum for people across the political and ideological spectrum, ensuring a healthy debate on these and other important issues." For an example, check out this post, "In Praise of Mid-Century Modern Planning," which links to an article in New Geography, calling for design diversity.

We all can have an impact on our built environments, whether we're in a big city or a small town, by informing ourselves about the decisions that affect the structure and infrastructure of our entire communities and acting to make sure that those decisions are responsible. To do this, we need to refocus our thinking, at least at times, to consider what it means to be consumers on a much bigger scale.

In the 1970s, many people thought that the answer to society's problems could be found by going "back to the land." Today, maybe the answer is going back to the cities.

© 2010 Cynthia Friedlob
Artwork: © 2009 Mandie LeScum, stock.xchng

Roots & Shoots & White Roofs

Jane Goodall was interviewed in the LA Times today. I have always admired her dedication to her work, her sensitivity and her awareness of the interconnectedness of life on our small planet. Among her other accomplishments, she created Roots and Shoots, a non-profit organization for activist young people:

"Roots creep underground everywhere and make a firm foundation. Shoots seem very weak, but to reach the light, they can break open brick walls. Imagine that the brick walls are all the problems we have inflicted on our planet. Hundreds of thousands of roots & shoots, hundreds of thousands of young people around the world, can break through these walls. We CAN change the world."

When asked what just one person could do to help, she suggested that we all could ". . . spend just a little bit of time learning about the consequences of the choices you make each day – what you buy, what you eat, what you wear, how you interact with people and animals – and start consciously making choices that would be beneficial rather than harmful."

In other words, be thoughtful consumers.

Over the last several months of my blogging hiatus, I've read many news stories that I thought warranted a Thoughtful Consumer blog post. I found that I missed the opportunity to write about those topics that you, my readers, and I seem to agree are interesting. Reading the Jane Goodall interview made me decide to make time to return to blogging. The posts may be briefer and they may be sporadic, but I hope you'll enjoy continuing to ponder with me some of these issues, from architecture to advertising to clutter and whatever else affects us as consumers.

I also don't think anyone is ever too old to qualify as a "shoot" that can break down some of those brick walls of problems we face.

Retired Air Force colonel and chemical engineer Ronald Savin is a perfect example. In 2006, he invented a type of reflective paint that was recently used by the Anaheim Hilton Hotel on its roof. It creates a "blindingly white" surface that "deflects nearly 85% of the heat that hits it, reducing the surface temperature by as much as 50 degrees. That means less energy is needed to cool the hotel's interior, cutting air-conditioning costs and carbon emissions."

Savin was inspired by a documentary on the History Channel about recycling rubber.

"His Hyperglass top coat is designed like a Rice Krispies treat. Glass 'microspheres,' which are used to lighten airplane parts and bowling balls, are suspended in a paint that includes Teflon. The whiter the titanium dioxide tint, the more heat bounces off. Underneath, his Hyperflex primer serves as an insulation layer that also helps prevent water damage and erosion. And because it uses powdered recycled rubber, it helps address another thorny environmental issue: the millions of tires discarded annually in the U.S."

Although Savin's unique paint is a recent invention, the concept of using white roofs to save energy is not new. But the realization of its potential positive effect on curbing global warming is resulting in the idea slowly picking up steam (see a 2008 LA Times article).

An ABC Channel 7 News blog recent post about white roofs reported:

"Several states have already started to push white or light-colored roofs. Four years ago, California made it law that all new flat roofs be white. In July [2009], the state will demand that any new roofs that slope (including homes) be light or white. Georgia and Florida, among others, offer incentives for white roofs."

In May, Energy Secretary Steven Chu advocated white roofs to fight global warming.

In addition to the links above, you can take a look at a related Thoughtful Consumer post from 2008 (Green White Roofs) that provides more information about the topic.

Such a simple solution, at least for those of us in the Sun Belt. If you need a new roof, this will give you an opportunity to save money on your air conditioning bills and do some good for the planet.

Cool.

© 2009 Cynthia Friedlob

Green White Roofs

Ten years ago, upon moving into a townhouse, I was slightly disappointed to discover that the Homeowners Association had already made plans to replace the roofs on all the units in the complex. I thought it was unfortunate that no one had considered the possibility of installing solar panels. We do live in southern California and there is no dearth of sunshine; in fact 73% of our days are sunny every year. Imagine the energy savings over the last decade if the Board had been a bit more forward-thinking.

But it's not just solar panels that can make a difference. I've discussed green roofs on several occasions in the past, but for many people, the structural reinforcements necessary for a green roof can rule out that option. What if there was a simpler way not only to lower energy costs but also slow down global warming?

It turns out that simply having a highly reflective, white roof on the average home, rather than the conventional dark roof, can prevent 10 metric tons of planet-heating carbon dioxide emissions from entering the atmosphere. And, because a white roof never gets more than a few degrees warmer than the ambient temperature, the need for air-conditioning is substantially reduced -- as much as 40% in some commercial buildings.

The LA Times reported today:

"Since 2005, the Golden State has required that flat commercial structures have white roofs. Next year, new and retrofitted residential and commercial buildings, with both flat and sloped roofs, will have to install heat-reflecting roofing, as part of an energy-efficient building code."

If, in addition to white roofs, the 100 biggest cities in the world also began using reflective materials for pavement, "the global cooling effect would be massive, according to data released Tuesday at California's annual Climate Change Research Conference in Sacramento."

The Atlanta Business Chronicle pointed out that "several years ago, [Georgia] became the first state to amend its building code to recognize the benefits of reflective material. The 'White Roofing Amendment' became part of the Georgia State Minimum Code for Construction."

The Chronicle also notes, "White roofs also reduce the heat island effect in an urban area, a potentially critical boon for Atlanta, which famously suffers from a lot of bad-air days. Studies have shown that cities are often three to eight degrees warmer on hot days than outlying rural areas. The effect in Atlanta has been measured as high as 12 degrees. And heat is a major contributing factor to the formation of ozone." Anyone who's ever ventured into downtown LA on a hot, smoggy summer day knows how miserable that heat island effect can be.

Naturally, the EPA has taken a positive position on cool roofing materials:

"Cool roof systems with high reflectance and emittance stay up to 70°F (39°C) cooler than traditional materials during peak summer weather. Benefits of cool roofs include reduced building heat-gain and saving on summertime air conditioning expenditures. By minimizing energy use, cool roofs do more than save money – they reduce the demand for electric power and resulting air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions."

If you've traveled to the Mediterranean countries or seen photographs of towns and cities in those areas, you've probably noticed the consistent use of white on the buildings, both residential and commercial. Well, it doesn't just look beautiful, obviously it's smart, too. Good for the consumer, good for the environment. A very thoughtful choice.

Cool.

© 2008 Cynthia Friedlob

Prefab and Modular Housing: Solutions to the World's Housing Crisis?

Over five years ago, "Environmental Health Perspectives," the journal of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, wrote about the global housing crisis and its effect on human health and welfare. Sadly, the situation has not improved. Of course this crisis must be addressed, especially in areas where there's terrible suffering and disease as a result of lack of shelter and clean water. But it's also worthwhile for those of us who are more fortunate to rethink just how much space we need to live and how that space might be constructed.

I've written in the past about ultra-small houses ("Small House, Big Benefits?"), which offer interesting alternatives for many people. Another option we can consider is prefabricated housing. Prefab homes are manufactured off-site in standardized pieces that are easily transported to the site for quick assembly. They're inexpensive and durable, and have now, at last, qualified as trendy. In fact, the Museum of Modern Art in NYC is opening an exhibit on July 20 entitled, "Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling." The high-fashion angle is confirmed in an article in Gothamist.

If you want to be at the cutting edge of prefab homes, check out FabPrefab where the joys of modernist prefab construction are extolled.

An article on New Hampshire Public Radio's website explains that prefab housing has been around for over one hundred years and mentions an environmental benefit:

"Prefab housing also taps into the desire for more sustainable and ecologically-friendly architecture. "

There's also a video on the site that shows the assembly of the prefab "Cellophane House."

You can find a variety of green prefab housing choices at LowImpactLiving.

And what retailer would be a natural for getting into the prefab business? IKEA, of course. They're building prefab apartment houses in Sweden and soon in the UK. The IKEA-ized name for the product: BoKlok.

Another unusual approach to housing is discussed by Bob Vila, who writes on his website about using steel shipping containers for modular construction:

"Inter-modal construction means applying many methods – often unconventional ones – for housing and commercial construction. It frequently implies recycling materials for reuse as building components. More than 50 years ago, the U.S. converted steel shipping containers for use as portable command centers and medical facilities in Korea. Now, architects, designers, planners, and homeowners are finding renewed interest in these inter-modal steel building units (ISBUs) as they look for affordable, sustainable housing options for the 21st century."

If you can stand to read the tiniest font size ever created, in white on black, no less, the Houses of the Future website has interesting information about new steel modular building.

If you're an investor in housing, the International Property Investment website discusses the advantages of steel modular housing from the Australian perspective. L.A. readers, you may want to note the comment about its advantage in an earthquake: "it may collapse, but it won't kill you." Most comforting, if slightly mystifying.

And if you want to get the current perspective on our main concern, the global housing crisis, take a look at this inspiring video of Cameron Sinclair, co-founder of Architecture for Humanity. The organization's motto is: "Building a more sustainable future using the power of design."

Of course, the power of architectural design is only part of the equation that will add up to a sustainable future; another part of it is each of us making thoughtful choices as consumers. If you're planning on buying or building a home or office space, this could be a great opportunity for you to contribute to that sustainable future by considering carefully what you need and how you can fulfill those needs. There might be an unusual solution that would be green, creative and, thanks to MOMA, very, very cool.

© 2008 Cynthia Friedlob

A Potpourri: The Green Roof Doghouse, the Disappointed Australian, and the Popularity of SUVs

Here's a bit of potpourri for your 4th of July weekend:

The LA Times featured an article today about building a doghouse with a green roof. Sounds a bit odd, but it does make sense. It offers you a lovely little gardening area and it will make your pet's home cooler -- "in every sense of the word," as the article mentions. You can get instructions from the article or link to a landscape architect and sculptor who will happily sell you their snazzy versions for $1,000 to $4,000.

In case you're wondering what happened to the Ian Usher, the Australian who auctioned his entire life on eBay, here's the scoop: he was disappointed that he had to settle for $384,000, a bid that doesn't even cover the value of his house. He's committed to honor the bid, however, and is ready to move on to the next phase of his life. He's decided to complete one hundred life goals in one hundred weeks and has set up a website where anyone who's interested can track his progress. The goals are primarily adventurous (skydiving, bungee jumping, running with the bulls in Spain) but one is to sell a book telling the story of his adventures. Does anyone do anything without a film crew following them around or a plan set up in advance to sell a book?

Finally, I had hoped that the cost of gasoline would result in significant changes in our auto-buying habits and, fortunately, that seemed to be the case. The popularity of hybrids is up, that of SUVs is down. Or so I thought. Then Jacqueline Mitchell at Forbes Magazine reported on the most difficult cars to find -- the ones that are "so popular that auto manufacturers are selling them faster than they can build them." In first place on the list, no surprise, is the $21,500 high-mileage, hybrid Toyota Prius. But in second place is "the not-so-expected gas-guzzling $74,700 Lexus LX Series full-size luxury SUV that gets a combined 14 mpg." The likely explanation? Brand loyalty. Luxury-loving Lexus owners are willing to pay a premium for comfort. I wonder if they'll be willing to pay the price of the effects those kinds of vehicles have on our environment.

The Fourth of July is our celebration of Independence Day. Maybe eventually we'll realize we should also celebrate Interdependence Day -- every day.

© 2008 Cynthia Friedlob

Whole Foods and Sustainable Architecture

I've not yet visited the gigantic, new, two-storey Whole Foods Market in Pasadena, but the place already has generated a lot of discussion in the LA area. In fact, the discussion has prompted a feature article by Christopher Hawthorne in Sunday's LA Times. Hawthorne, the Times' architecture critic, ponders the conflict between the massive structure in which organic/fair-traded/crunchy-healthy foods are sold and the concept of green architecture in which a smaller footprint on the land is a primary focus. Not surprisingly, the conclusion isn't favorable for the market:

". . . the first rule of sustainable architecture is to keep new buildings as small and efficient as possible. With its soaring 30-foot ceilings and endless aisles, 280 subterranean parking spots and . . . TVs flickering day and night, this place is neither. It's more like the grocery store version of a hybrid SUV made by Lexus or a 12,000-square-foot 'green' house with a swimming pool and six-car garage accompanying its solar panels and sustainably harvested decking."

Sounds like a far cry from the tiny old neighborhood Aunt Tilley's health food store of some thirty years ago in Hollywood, with its too-small aisles and little bins of bulk brown rice and lentils. The selection of items wasn't great, but the counter-culture vibe (sadly dated words!) was palpable.

So how much of a trade-off are we willing to accept today for the multiple brands of a dazzling variety of soy products, the rows upon rows of snack bars, the imported (yet "sustainable") designer bamboo tableware?

Clearly, there's a dichotomy between Whole Foods' ostensibly good intentions to provide easy access to a variety of healthy food (okay, and they want to expand their business), and the manifestation of those intentions which Hawthorne suggests has resulted in "Vegas with organic, gluten-free scones."

Have the organic products/health food industries been totally co-opted by big business?

It's true that the mammoth Whole Foods store seems to be an anachronism, but, oh, what we would have given if Aunt Tilley's had stocked a gluten-free scone!

© 2008 Cynthia Friedlob

Juxtapositions: Green Roofs and Water Haulers

Someday in the future, the phrase "green building" will be obsolete. Eventually, the ecologically sound design and construction practices we now label as green will be incorporated into those processes in the same way that running water is automatically expected in today's American homes.

This doesn't mean that all American homes have running water, just that it's expected. But I digress. Read this story or watch this film about Navajo "water haulers" if you'd like to digress with me. After digressing, it's interesting to take a moment to think about how different your life is from these Native Americans who live with minimal possessions and no running water. Provides a little perspective, doesn't it?

But back to the original topic: let's consider one tiny aspect of green building currently available and being well applied in old and new construction: green roofs, i.e., using living plants that cool the building below while also providing beautiful natural environments.

Here are just a few interesting links featuring lovely green roofs:

Take a look at the spectacular green roof in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park at the California Academy of Sciences. The structure uses two million native plants.

Check out Chicago's Green Roofs project. Over two hundred green roofs are scattered across the city, more than any other city in the United States.

Here's a truly fabulous photo gallery of green roofs across the world.

If the green roofs idea excites you, you can find out much more at EcoGeek (good photos, including one of goats grazing on a roof!), the International Green Roof Association and GreenRoofs.

If you know of examples of green roofs in your area, please share them in a comment. Or, if you digressed and now would like to express your thoughts about the value of having running water in your life, please feel free to do that, too.

Then, if you really want to test your thoughtful consumer skills, ponder awhile the odd contradiction of using water to grow plants on the tops of buildings (a worthy idea, I believe) with the simultaneous failure to provide the most basic of needs (an accessible clean water supply) to many thousands of citizens.

No one said being a thoughtful consumer was going to be easy.

© 2008 Cynthia Friedlob

Historic Preservation and Adaptive Reuse Architecture

My goal in 2008 is to continue exploring the many resources we all have available to help us become thoughtful consumers. I'll be sharing information and links that will help us to unclutter and simplify our personal lives, to recognize how often and how effectively we're manipulated by advertising, and to think about decisions that we need to make collectively in order to create a society that is focused on the quality of our lives rather than the quantity of our possessions.

So, let's launch the new year with just a few thoughts about one of those larger topics that affects all of us: architecture. We don't live in a vacuum, we live in cities, towns, and rural areas, all of which are full of structures that impact our comfort, our sense of aesthetics, and the Earth's environment. Our surroundings affect us not only in our own homes, but outside them, in the communities where we live and work.

At home, living an uncluttered, simplified life means we're not consuming more than we need and we're being thoughtful about our purchases, often recycling items for purposes other than what was originally intended. When we achieve this goal, or at least valiantly strive for it, it's personally satisfying -- perhaps even sanity saving.

Adaptive reuse of older buildings serves the same purpose on a much grander scale. We can't keep slapping up monster-sized mansions, enormous bleak glass skyscrapers and endlessly clogged mega-freeways without cluttering our cities and creating tremendous stress on our society. Thoughtful decisions are crucial when dealing with public spaces, too.

I always like to look back to see what worked in the past before leaping to conclusions about how to shape the future. "Preservation" is the magazine published by the National Trust for Historic Preservation -- a favorite charitable organization of mine. The magazine is a perfect vehicle for examining the architecture of the past, then using what we've learned to make our lives better right now and in years to come. The January/February 2008 edition is called "The Green Issue." It's full of informative articles, as usual, but I was particularly fond of "A Cautionary Tale," by Wayne Curtis, who offers an often neglected positive viewpoint regarding the "green" value of older buildings.

In the past, houses and buildings needed to be constructed to accomodate weather fluctuations because heating was difficult and air conditioning was unheard of. So, depending on the location, builders relied on such things as high ceilings, sleeping porches, and shutters to help provide comfort to inhabitants. Using local materials was common, both in construction and landscaping. And buildings were made to last through the ages.

Preservation of older buildings is not just aesthetically desireable, it's practical. The energy used to renovate an already-existing building is almost always far less than what would be required for new construction. Yvon Chouinard, founder of the Patagonia clothing manufacturing company is quoted as follows: "The most responsible way to buy clothes is to shop at Goodwill. And the most responsible way to build is to recycle an old bulding."

Take a look at the Pearl District in Portland, Oregon, to see how that area has become a vibrant, artistic part of town thanks to much historic preservation and adaptive reuse of buildings.

The dynamic Gallery of Modern Art for the Tate Museum in London was formerly an abandoned power plant.

Architecture Week has a library of interesting adaptive reuse projects.

Architectural Heritage Foundation is a non-profit firm that redeveloped Boston's old City Hall.

Multi-Housing News reports on a Seattle project that successfully turned a 1919 warehouse into environmentally friendly lofts.

Architectural Record talks about the reuse of an unusual site: the Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh.

This page about the history of Citadel Outlets shopping center in Los Angeles leaves out the many years that the huge structure sat abandoned and decaying. It's at the side of the freeway on the way to Disneyland, so many Angelenos happily watched its transformation.

Thoughtful consumers play an important role in creating public surroundings that are vibrant and nurturing. If you know of an adaptive reuse project in your area, please send along a link in your comment. Thanks!

© 2008 Cynthia Friedlob