SHOWCASING GREEN - Studio 804 - Sunday, November 15th, 4-6pm

Please join KCMODERN for:
SHOWCASING GREEN
at the amazing house built by Studio 804, 3716 Springfield
with our guest, Gerould Sabin of Elements of Green,
who will be presenting green building materials
Sunday, November 15th, 4-6 PM.

Studio 804 at the University of Kansas has designed Kansas City’s first “off the grid” residence as a model of sustainability. The studio is aspiring to complete the first LEED platinum residence in the Kansas City area. The house showcases may energy saving techniques, including a wind turbine, solar panels, a geothermal heat pump and a water reclamation system.

Meet Gerould Sabin of Elements of Green, which he created to make an impact in Kansas City by simplifying access to the product stream of sustainable building, remodeling and finishing solutions to the Midwest and to provide a social networking venue for the discussion of environmentally sound building materials and practices.

Studio 804: http://www.studio804.com/about%20us/mission/studio/studio.html

3716 Springfield: http://www.3716springfield.com/
From State Line Road and 39th Street, go west on 39th by KUMed and across Rainbow Bvld, 3 blocks to Springfield and north to the house. Parking will be in the gravel lot located across the street and a little to the north.

Elements of Green: http://www.elements-of-green.com/about-us.html

Photo by Dan Rockhill

Sneak Peak at Studio 804 Open House for This Weekend

Well I got a sneak peak at the Studio 804 project this week and I plan on making another trip back this Saturday to see the greenest house in Kansas City finished (or almost finished). They had a lot of work ahead of them when I was there.

Studio 804, from the University of Kansas School of Architecture and Urban Planning will host an Open House of their most recent project this Saturday, May 16, 2009 from 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM. The house is located near KU Med, at 1716 Springfield, Kansas City, KS 66103. Parking is located at the school north of the site. Be sure to see the other Studio 804 projects in the neighborhood.

See ya there!

Studio 804 Open House - May 16, 2009

Studio 804, from the University of Kansas School of Architecture and Urban Planning will be having an Open House of their most recent project this Saturday, May 16, 2009 from 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM. The house is located not far from two previous 804 projects at 1716 Springfield, Kansas City, KS 66103. Parking is located directly Northeast of the site.

These houses always prove to be very interesting and this years house is not only Modern, but also Uber Green. More on that later.


KCMODERN Hosts Iowa State University Architecture Students

Last week, on March 26th and 27th,our friend Dan Naegle, Professor of Architecture at Iowa State University brought his students to town. When they arrived they had a very interesting tour of A. Zahner Metal Fabricating Co. Later in the the evening they went to the new Block addition at the Nelson-Adkins Art Museum, seeing the use of light in architecture.
On Friday we went to the Mod4 house by Studio 804, in KCKS. The owners hosted a tour of the house and and gave great insight into their lifestyles there. One of Professor Naegele's classes attending were researching "Affordable Portable"which seemed appropriate.


From there we went to the current project by Studio 804. It is a site-built two story house ( unusual compared to their past work) with many green features. There are 22 students working on the project. The photo below shows the east facing front and toward the rear, the ample window/door openings

After a lunch at "Grinders" on 18th street, we proceeded to 60th and Charlotte to see the "Home Contained" house. Built with custom designed shipping containers, windows and doors and connected with structure like this stairwell, the house during construction does not look like your typical residence.
Innovative industrial designer, Debbie Glassberg of Home Contained, teamed with BNIM Architects to get some of the details right. She sees her home as an extreme example of the possibilities this building type has. She thinks with proper design this could be a solution to housing demands in areas damaged by major weather events. Shelter, sized and designed for victims needs and shipped, trucked or railroaded ( full of necessities for a home) to the location.

She feels that architecture and the way we build is changing around the world, and we should be open to new ideas and techniques that have proven successful elsewhere in the world.

For more on this house go to: www.info@homecontained.com
For some great photos and articles on Shipping Container Housing go to:
http://green.yahoo.com/blog/daily_green_news/8/twelve-amazing-shipping-container-houses.html
After this tour we saw a cluster of Lustron houses, MCM commercial buildings in O.P. KS and looked at some classic architectural landmarks before they left town. It was cold, wet and miserable but we had fun.