Image courtesy of Inhabitat

File this under “better late than never”… I just learned about this house and knew I had to talk about it here because it embodies many of the things that I love in one tidy, very livable package.  Observe:

1. It’s a house, which is great, since I love house design;
2. It’s made of straw bales, which are sustainable, renewable, AND energy efficient with proper installation;
3. It’s pre-fab, which is super cool because pre-fabricated designs cut down on job site waste and allow for easier manufacturing recycling;
4. It’s small, and compact, and cute, which means it’s got a lower carbon footprint (although the cuteness doesn’t contribute to that, it’s just a bonus);
5. AND it meets PassivHaus standards, which is about as close as you can get to a net-zero energy house.

I mean, this is pretty awesome, right?  And it’s a good looking little house.  The only problem I’m seeing is that ModCell is a UK company which makes it nearly impossible to build the cute goodness in your pre-selected plot, if you live in the United States, that is.  Which is not to say that you couldn’t send the cuteness over on a giant cargo ship, it’s just that the adorable-ness becomes slightly less so when you realize how much fuel you had to use getting it States-side (think of how much carbon you burn when you get a on a plane to take a short flight, then multiply that by like, oh, 10,000*).

*(I’m exaggerating, I don’t actually know what kind of carbon footprint a trip on a cargo ship would yield.  I have to believe it’s bigger than having it built down the street, though).

So, here’s to hoping that ModCell partners up with an American manufacturer to begin more “local” production of it’s pre-fab wonder so that some of us can get our hands on this wee, energy-efficient, awesomeness.

Here's another photo of it because it's cool; image courtesy of Inhabitat

I’m also meeting with Arthur Rubinfeld, President of Starbucks Global Development, in the afternoon to talk to him about… well what SHOULD a green designer talk to a CEO-type about, anyway?  Leave any questions you have for Arthur here!

In other news, this story about the Clayton Homes iHouse got passed around the blogosphere a couple of weeks ago, and I wanted to mention it here briefly.  What I think is really intriguing about the iHouse is that is being produced by Clayton Homes, a company that is used to – and by all accounts, quite good at – mass production of mobile or manufactured homes.  So in this respect, it is a house that could very quickly have an impact on the average American home buyer.  This is in contrast to the limited market tapped by firms who have ventured into modular or pre-fab housing after starting off in custom-designed architecture, such as Marmol Radziner, Living Homes, or Michelle Kaufmann.  I think there is a marketplace for all of these firms’ home designs, perhaps less so in a contracting economy, but I think these manufactured homes have a lot of potential for customers who may never think to solicit the help of a design professional.

Even more intriguing is the thought of taking this availability one step further….what if the iHouse shows up on the sales floor of your local Home Depot or Lowe’s?  Isn’t that the next step of modular, mobile, or manufactured homes; turning them into a product, ready for “consumption”, like every other product?  I suppose the silver lining on this possible scenario is that most of these pre-fab homes are using green design principles and are acheiving LEED (or equivalent) certification.  And if mass production is the way that we can bring green design principles to the public at large, well, then, let’s try that.

Here’s a photo of the iHouse.  Take the virtual tour for more info, but beware the annoying muzak.