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.
