The WFA, Inc. team was happy to spot our ongoing residential project gracing the front page of the Santa Cruz Sentinel on November 30. The interplay of a lightweight framework amidst the trees showcases the strategic use of structural steel—an optimal choice for sloping properties, providing both simplicity and elegant design possibilities.
Thank you to the Santa Cruz Sentinel and photographer Shmuel Thaler for highlighting this exciting project!
If you are shivering in the winter or roasting during the summer, then it may be time to change your home’s insulation. Upgrading your house with energy-efficient insulation is one of the easiest, quickest projects that you can perform. Top-of-the-line insulation will make your living areas more comfortable, lower energy bills, and increase property value. Today, there are a number of innovative insulation techniques that will enable you to reap these benefits, ranging from ICF construction to spray foam.
Polyisocyanurate insulation is a unique foam board insulation that is composed from a variety of high-quality materials. It boasts a high thermal performance which makes it the product of choice for energy-aware builders. Plus, polyiso is eco-friendly and has been praised by the EPA for its positive impact on the environment. Polyiso offers a number of benefits ranging from outstanding performance in fire tests, low vapor transmission and low water absorption, as well as staying stable over a large range of temperatures. Compared to thermal wool or XPS, polyiso is more sustainable and reduces energy consumption.
While spray foam may cost more at first, it will quickly pay for itself by saving you money on your monthly energy bills. The moment it is sprayed on your walls, it will expand and reach the smallest nooks and crannies. Once it is cured, spray foam will stay in place and will never settle. Spray foam insulation will also enhance indoor living spaces as it limits the infiltration of pollutants and allergens. Further, it will create quieter spaces as it dampens sound. By producing an air barrier, spray foam reduces the chances that your home will be infected with mold. This air barrier is also effective in keeping a constant temperature in attics and basements.
Insulating Concrete Forms are another effective way to reduce energy consumption and increase your property value. ICFs are thick concrete cores tucked in between panels of foam, and they provide top-of-the-line strength and durability. Compared to insulated wood frame walls, ICFs offer a number of benefits. The material lasts forever, and it is extremely effective in maintaining comfortable temperatures in your living spaces. ICFs eliminate drafts, cold spots, noise, and pollution. ICF walls are also air-tight which will keep out dust, allergens, and dirt. ICFs are also a hallmark of net zero construction which endeavors to maximize the renewable energy created on-site. Essentially, ICFs are a green product that will never decay or degrade, and they are a proven way to construct an energy-efficient home.
Foam board insulation consists of thick, rigid panels of insulation crafted from a variety of materials. It can easily be transplanted into any open area of your home. If walls are exposed, then you can quickly position it behind drywall. Foam board can even function as below grade insulation. Because it is pre-constructed, you can also customize every board to your exact specifications. Due to this, foam board insulation offers top-notch thermal resistance and heat conduction. Once installed, foam board insulation will prevent heat leakage and improve your energy-efficiency along with reducing the chances of moisture buildup.
Regardless of the materials you choose, it is important to understand the concept of air barriers. An air barrier is a sheet or collection of materials that is specifically designed to prevent airflow into and out fo a home’s walls. Regardless of the materials used to create an air barrier, they should be continuous across the entire building and durable. For example, you could use insulating board stock, building wraps, poured concrete, or spray polyurethane foam. Paired with energy-efficient insulation, a properly constructed air barrier can prevent leakage and reduce bills. An air barrier will consistently maintain indoor temperatures which will lessen the wear on HVAC systems. They will also improve the air quality of living spaces by preventing the buildup of moisture and mold.
If your house is not comfortable and you are continuing to waste money on high utility bills, then it is time for a change. Install new, energy-efficient insulation, and you can enjoy the benefits while boosting your property’s value.
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Matt Lee is the owner of the Innovative Construction and Building Materials blog and a content writer for the building materials industry. He is focused on helping fellow homeowners, contractors, and architects discover materials and methods of construction that save money, improve energy efficiency, and increase property value.
Prefabricated components are used throughout the construction of course. Now, some companies are marketing entire prefab homes.
Prefab homes have been around for over 100 years but have never really caught on. They haven’t always been economical, and if the prefab isn’t specifically designed for your site, there’s a good chance it won’t exactly fit, not just spatially, but in other ways too.
For instance, when we design a custom home, we take into consideration the views from the home, and just as important, we intentionally block views we don’t want to see, like the ugly house next door, Ideally, you shouldn’t be aware of your neighbors at all, and you certainly don’t want your windows lined up with theirs!
When we build next to a vacant lot, we need to check the zoning on that lot to anticipate where a building could possibly be built in the future and consider our windows accordingly.
We currently use large prefab components on buildings where it’s made sense though. We’ve recently completed custom home on the side of a hill overlooking a forest with the steel structure made of large prefab boxes bolted together (see the photo). Each box is essentially a room of the house (some large, some smaller). The decks are the tops of the boxes. The boxes are supported on a few strong steel columns. The exterior will be covered with rusty steel sheets. When the landscaping is mature the building will appear to float, with no visible means of support.
50 years ago, we architecture students joked about the day when we could just project a hologram of a building onto a piece of land then walk around with a spray gun shooting light-sensitive concrete in the air and voila! the completed structure. This was, of course, a fantasy then, however something quite like this is now on the verge of reality.
3D printing or additive manufacturing as it is sometimes called is the process of using something like a computer inkjet printer to create small three-dimensional objects. Standard Inkjet printers of course print ink on paper by moving a print head back and forth that deposits ink on a sheet of paper line-by-line with each pass of the printhead. 3-D printers do the same thing except instead of ink they use liquid plastic that hardens as soon as it comes out of the print head. Instead of printing on paper, the liquid plastic “prints” onto a surface that lowers slightly with each pass of the printhead. The 3-D item builds up, layer, by layer. So far, for the most part, this technology has been limited to small parts, however, around the world there are a few very large versions of these printers, large enough even, believe it or not, to “print” small buildings.
These building-sized “printers” have used materials like special concrete that activates as soon as it is deposited. Up until now, large frames, spanning over entire building areas have been required to the “print head” would have something from which to be suspended.
Today, in our architectural design studio, instead of traditional drawings, we create virtual models of our buildings in our computers. We build these virtual models piece by piece and then take screenshots of different views of the models to make the blueprints.
There is an obvious opportunity here. We could use virtual models similar to those we’re using now, to 3-D print the buildings and rather than use large framework machines, we could employ a group of small “print-head” robots moving around the job site and depositing their quick-setting materials according to the virtual model. There isn’t a need for the giant framework if all the robots use the same virtual model. Also, better materials are being developed for these machines, like nylons and epoxies. All the materials necessary for buildings are now or will soon be available.
We’re not quite there yet but these technical challenges are quickly coming together. Most of the hard work has been done; now it’s just time to coordinate and perfect that 50-year-old dream.
Every project needs a builder. Only licensed contractors may work on your property without you assuming great risk in case anyone is hurt.
California classifies contractors into three categories, A, B, and C. An A contractor is called a “General Engineering Contractor,” and they typically build public works like roads, dams, etc., not typically buildings. B contractors are called “General Building Contractors” — these are the people who are in charge of getting buildings built. C contractors are “Specialty Contractors” — they work for (or under) General Contractors, therefore, they are called “sub-contractors.” For instance, these include carpentry contractors, painting contractors, electrical contractors, roofing contractors, and so on. These “sub-contractors” employ the workers that swing hammers and install products on your job.
The General Contractor may be compared to an orchestra conductor, while the subs would be like the individual musicians playing the music. In this example, the Architect’s role would be to write and arrange the music.
On a big commercial or government project, the Architect is paid a large fee to create extremely comprehensive drawings and specifications. These lengthy documents are then used for competitive bidding by a number of Contractors, in an effort to get the lowest bid. Unfortunately, this system can promote an adversarial relationship between the Owner and Contractor. This method isn’t the best way to build your home.
Homes are of course personal, and clients like to be involved throughout construction, so for this, we like to see a method called a ‘Negotiated Contract’. With a Negotiated Contract, the Owner pays the Architect a smaller fee than with competitive bidding, because the documents can be streamlined, with just enough information for permitting and to tell the Contractors what needs to be included. Big jobs must have all the fine points spelled out completely in the documents, while in the small project using a Negotiated Contract means that many of these details can be worked out during construction in field meetings between the Owner, Architect, and Contractor. With this method, employing a trustworthy contractor is key.
We’ve been in business locally for almost forty years, so we’ve seen some good (and a lot of bad) Contractors. We don’t want to choose your Contractor—that selection is up to you. We are general contractors as well as architects, however, we are comfortable working either way, as the Architect only, or as the Architect/Builder.
This home design uses the sun to heat up an attic, through a glass roof via the greenhouse effect. The collected heat is then stored in sealed five gallon bottles of water covering the floor of the attic. The water bottles act like batteries, absorbing the heat and holding it until needed. Even in winter, this attic will get over 150 degrees, so there are thermostatically controlled louvers at the peak of the roof to bleed off excess heat when necessary.
The building is cooled by collecting clean air outside the building and blowing it through several three-inch diameter plastic pipes, buried eight to ten feet below the ground. These pipes are around 150 feet long. For this building, we used two pipes. Since the ground is a constant 55 degrees at that depth, this outside air will be cooled considerably by the time it reaches the sealed sanitary crawl space under the Living Area. There, the cooler temperatures are stored with the same type of sealed water bottles used in the attic.
When cool air is desired, mats over vents on the floor can be moved aside exposing floor grates to the crawl space. When heat is required. A small fan at the top of the attic can blow some heated attic down to the Living Area as needed.
French doors between the Living Area and the Sun Room offer more climate control. Even at northern latitudes, tropical trees and fruits can be grown in the Sun Room.
The small fans can be powered with one small photovoltaic collector and a Tesla battery pack.
California is number one in so many things, but unfortunately one of them is earthquakes. We’re all waiting for the big one which will come sooner or later to each region, North, Central, and Southern California. In dense population centers like San Francisco and Los Angeles, there will be lots
of damage.
When one lives in the wild, the occasional shaker is just entertainment. Quakes are only problematic if we happen to live in buildings that can fall on us. Perching tons of building materials over our heads requires careful engineering to prevent collapse.
Historically, we’ve embedded our buildings in the ground with concrete foundations. This has insured that buildings move with the ground. The higher one is in a building, the more movement occurs.
At William Fisher Architecture, we’re developing a system to un-couple small buildings like homes from the ground, so when the earth moves violently back and forth, the buildings remain relatively still. There will still be up and down movement, but this is much easier to control than lateral sliding. Imagine that the building is on ball bearings.
Occupants inside feel less motion and there is much less damage. This strategy, called base isolation, is used in some new skyscrapers, however, it hasn’t yet been developed for smaller structures.
Our system uses a double floor slab with a graphite lubricant between the slabs. The top slab is the building’s floor and the bottom slab is connected to the ground via more or less conventional footings. Because the top part (the building, attached to the top slab) moves less than the ground slab, the building can have a less expensive structure than a traditional building.
Our system is still experimental and the building codes don’t yet allow it to be used for habitable structures, so we’re beta-testing it on some out-buildings and agricultural facilities while we develop all the details.
Designing a building isn’t mysterious. Actually, it’s very straightforward. The key, like most things in life, is planning, before the “designing” even starts.
Before calling in the architect the smart clients should do a lot of souls searching to identify exactly what the requirements will be. Couples need to get on the same page. People have to see eye-to-eye in order to create something as significant and expensive as a new home or new digs for the family business.
When the individual or couple is prepared and ready to speak with one voice, it’s time to sit down with the architect and discuss options. In our office, at this juncture, we thoroughly investigate all the desires and functional needs, even before we start thinking about any particular design.
We can call this initial process “programming.” Once we have the “program”, that is the concise statement (in English, rather than with sketches) of what the building will physically be, what special attributes and must have, what functions it must accommodate, only then we can seriously start thinking about drawing a design.
Next, we lay a plan of the lot or a floor plan of the existing building to be remodeled on the dining room table of the client, together with a laptop on which we’ve created a 3-D model of the existing building or conditions. We then put tracing paper over the plan and together with the client, create the new design. The genesis of our designs always comes from our clients; they are our most important design partners. They’re going to live in the building so they need to fully understand what they’ll be getting. We’ve learned many lessons over the years from our customers.
On the laptop, while we’re playing around with our colored pencils, our computer specialist will be inputting the design ideas we’re coming up with into the 3-D model so the virtual building will be evolving on screen as we go.
When we’ve had about all we can stand in this initial design meeting, usually after a few hours, we take a break for a few days and let it all ruminate.
We then meet again and sort out whatever we’ve started. Our average house project usually requires three, or maybe more of these design sessions for us to really get a good plan going. By then, all of the materials, furniture, appliances, fixtures, everything, will be decided upon.
When our client is completely happy with the design, we bring in our structural engineer to verify that what we’ve created isn’t too crazy. If it works structurally, we embark on the technical drawings and specifications so the building can be permitted and built.
One of the main decisions needs to be made at this point, the selection of a contractor to build the project. A good general contractor is a key to a successful project, just as much as a good architect is a key to a good design. We know the contractors in the locations we work, so very often we can make suggestions to our clients as to whom to hire.
While the project is being checked in the building and planning departments, the contractor can be obtaining bids from his or her subcontractors. By the time the plans are ready to go and the building department people are happy, the contractor should have a good head start on his or her planning and scheduling of labor and materials.
At this point, the biggest challenge for the client is to have a thick skin and hopefully some contingency money set aside, because surprises always happen during construction. Very often potential changes to the plans must occur because of unforeseen conditions or situations with an existing building.
Assumptions that were made during the design process about an existing building’s structural integrity for instance might be challenged as that building is
taken apart and its frame laid bare. Often times, foundations and other structural members, built years earlier might not be adequate for the new building requirements. Hopefully, there won’t be too much of this. But we always explain to our customers that this kind of uncertainty is just part of this adventure they’re on.
Soon, the dust will settle and interior finishes will be installed and finalized and our customers seem always than to have big smiles. The day will come when all of the furniture will be moved in and the client will be able to spend the night and wake up in their own new pad. For an architect, this is the happiest day of all.
There’s no code restriction against installing a fire fighters pole (that’s right!) in your home. Think about it, you’re late for work in your third-floor bedroom and you have to make it quickly down to the garage. What to do? No problem……
Faced with this question on a four-story home we were designing in Capitola, we settled on a 3-inch diameter highly polished seamless stainless steel pipe. After a little research at the local firehouse, we settled on stainless steel instead of brass to simplify daily maintenance (fire fighters spend a lot of time polishing brass). You also have to provide a leather padded “doughnut” at the bottom to land on when you’re not quite prepared to use your feet.
Of course, this pole is a dangerous item to have in your home it shouldn’t be taken lightly. But with care in specifying proper locks on doors leading into the pole shaft, it can be done.
The trick is to use your forearms rather than your hands.
A big part of green design is how we use energy. It’s now possible to collect all the energy we need for buildings from renewable clean sources like solar, wind, geothermal, and from streams and rivers. In graphics design, our first step to heat or cool a building is to consider the exterior color. Dark colors absorb the sun’s energy, making buildings hotter, while light colors reflect the sun’s heat, keeping the building cooler. Therefore, public buildings that normally have a lot of people heating them up usually need cooling, so therefore should be light colored, while residences more often do better with darker exteriors. Our strategy usually is to first consider building colors, then incorporates the greenhouse effect (heat build-up through the windows), and finally by using collectors to heat air or water. We use floors and walls of concrete and masonry, and sometimes volumes of water in tanks, to store the heat so it can be used later. For insulation, we like spray foam. This rigid material is sprayed as a liquid from a gun into crevices and framing spaces.
For cooling, in addition to light colors, we prefer simple ventilation, something of a lost art nowadays. Designing thoughtfully for good airflow works in mild climates, like we have in much California. Shade trees help too. We like “cool tubes”, which are lengths of buried plastic pipe, with fans that blow in outside air. Buried eight or ten feet underground, where the soil temperature is consistently cool year-round, the air existing the tubes, into the building, can be up to 10 degrees lower than it was outdoors.
We also use geothermal systems, usually in the form of buried pipes with loops of hose through water is pumped. Together with heat pumps, which are electric devices that use the temperature differential between the earth and the atmosphere for both heating and cooling, these systems are usually cheaper to operate than central heating or air conditioning.
Most people are familiar with photovoltaic (PV) solar collectors, those dark glass panels that convert sunlight into electricity. We use PV on most of our jobs, as well as other types of panels. Hot water collectors often find their way into our projects. These are simple shallow black boxes with glass faces, normally about 4 feet by 8 feet in size. Inside the boxes are long loops of black rubber hose not unlike that found in your garden. As water flows through the hose, it is heated because of the greenhouse effect inside the collector.
People lucky enough to live next to a river or even a large stream may be able to install a small turbine in the water flow, to turn a generator to create electricity for a home. Wind generators (windmills), have come a long way and now can be seen with some very interesting designs, however, are only cost-effective if there is strong wind for a significant part of the day.
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