Green Prefab at SF City Hall

By Daniel P. Gregory, Sunset Senior Editor, Home

Today it’s just a patch of lawn below the Mayor’s balcony at San Francisco’s grand Beaux Arts style City Hall, but in September a warmly contemporary, eco-friendly, modular home will materialize there, competing for Gavin Newsom’s attention.

ABRA...

CADABRA! (Or to be a little more Harry Potter-hip with a Transfiguration Spell: "Pre-Fabius Greenus!")

Called mkLotus, the one bedroom structure—seen here in drawings and a model—is architect Michelle Kaufmann’s latest demonstration house. You remember Michelle, the prefab pioneer who began her career with Frank Gehry. We hosted her Glidehouse at Sunset  headquarters in Menlo Park, which drew 20,000 visitors over two frenzied days. And then, with input from Senior Writer Peter Whiteley and me, she produced the Sunset Breezehouse, which prompted yet another blockbuster weekend.

Now she’s designed a prefab that’s as green as possible. I think it’s terrific. Note the sod roof, the way accordion doors open entire walls to expand the living space, the sunshades, and the photovoltaic panels. The name is fitting: Michelle liked the simple sculptural shape of the lotus flower (Nelumbo)—an icon of tranquility—and the way it blooms in water and opens to the sky.  She says:  “The mkLotus™ was designed as an oasis.  We wanted to create a house that provides a sense of calm. It’s about connection.  Connection to the natural, and to the landscape.  It can be perfect for a vacation home, or a home where you feel like you are on vacation.” The interior will be eco-friendly as well.

The house is a showcase for West Coast Green, a huge green building conference and expo taking place in Bill Graham Auditorium at Civic Center Plaza September 20-22. Built by XtremeHomes in partnership with Sunset, mkLotus will be an unusual and eye-catching, if temporary, addition to the neighborhood.

Come to think of it, this could be Mayor Newsom’s answer to the Governor’s Puffing Tent!  No cigars here, though: strictly green tea.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Comments

[dee lemmon]

Interested in a pre-fab house. Does this one come in several boxes?

[Tom Williams]

I have reviewed your website. I am a commercial real estate developer and wonder if your applications include commercial buildings like supermarkets, 2 - 3 story hotels, bowling alleys, etc.

Your reply is welcome.

Thanks,

Tom Williams

[Justin Brown]

I work for Michelle Kaufmann Designs, the mkLotus is one single module or as called above a box.
The modular prefab system can be applied to commercial properties as long as they are a maximum of 4 stories. Please feel free to contact me at justin@mkd-arc.com

[Justin Brown]

I work for Michelle Kaufmann Designs, the mkLotus is one single module or as called above a box.
The modular prefab system can be applied to commercial properties as long as they are a maximum of 4 stories. Please feel free to contact me at justin@mkd-arc.com

[Eugene Ulrich]

What specific climate / region ( Temperature Range ) is the mklotus configuration best suited?

Will this design/configurarion function efficiently in an area like New Orleans?

Regards,

Eugene F. Ulrich

[PENELOPE JOHNSTONE]

i would like to know more, as i am disabled with Multiple Chemical Sencitivity, i would like to know if the home is low toxic, or toxin free, specifically, sealants, adhecives, flooring, insulaton, cabinetry and counters, paints, limmited or outgassed plastics, or bio-plastics...