With the building resources available today, as well as a struggling economy, it is no wonder that unconventional, sustainable and less expensive housing options are beginning to make a grand appearance. People are shifting their way of thinking from living in oversized, wooden frame boxes with vinyl siding, a picket fence and four car driveway to things such as old industrial loft buildings, trailers and even shipping containers. It is all in the perception imagination to redesign these unconventional spaces into sustainable, green homes.
In the Boston area there is a new community called Forbes Park that takes sustainable living to the ultimate level of luxury. Built inside an abandoned printing facility from the 1800′s, Forbes Park dubs their homes as Hybrid lofts because they garner over fifty percent of their energy from renewable resources. Most notably is their use of wind power from the turbine located right on the premises and passive solar through the two walls of windows located at the end of each loft space. In addition, the structure features a rain water collection system for use in toilets, radiant floor heat, thermal-mass passive heating and cooling, low flow toilets, energy efficient appliances and the use of durable, natural materials lessening the need for replacement.
Sometimes there is a negative stigma attached to certain forms of housing, for example a trailer, but Charmaine Manley Design has taken this way of thinking and buried it so deeply beneath bamboo flooring and Paperstone countertops that the double wide trailer she renovated in Oregon has been photographed as a show home. The residence started out, as many trailers do, with chintzy carpet, paneled walls, aluminum windows and no character but through sound design principles it has been transformed into a comfortable and livable home. The home also boasts low to no VOC paint, repurposed antique furniture (as a bathroom vanity and closet solution), lighting acquired from second hand stores, green kitchen cabinets and energy efficient windows and appliances. As a final nod to the planet all materials that were removed were either recycled or donated to various organizations.
