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Thousands tour green prefab

By Daniel Gregory, Sunset senior editor/home

It's hard to believe that the mkLotus green prefab designed by Michelle Kaufmann for the West Coast Green home building expo has already been and gone. But mirage it was not, as the many thousands of visitors can attest.

They asked for information on everything from the recycled ceramic shards used as gravel to the peach pit mulch.

A major attraction was the sleek "mail slot-style" bathroom sink made of concrete and recycled pulverized toilet porcelain—an example of cradle-to-cradle recycling or, better yet, call it bowl-to-bowl!

Another draw was the green furniture, including a sofa bed made of woven craft paper (shown below), and an alcohol-burning fireplace (also visible below).

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mkLotus opens

By Daniel Gregory, Sunset senior editor, home

The Mayor's view has changed...

Dominating the vista of Civic Center Plaza from San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's balcony is Michelle Kaufmann's mkLotus, the greenest prefab around. Sponsored by Sunset and West Coast Green building expo, the contemporary, solar-powered, green-roofed, less than 700 square-foot house  is all set to welcome the Mayor and thousands of other WCG attendees to the City's version of the Governor's Puffing Tent (for green tea, not cigars, of course—this is San Francisco!). Here's a taste of what you can see at the event, Sept. 20-22:

Beaux Arts to Bauhaus in 50 feet—Make that 50 feats, when you consider that this house was constructed in the Xtremehomes factory in Oroville, then driven to the site and set into place between 1 and 5 a.m. last Sunday, then fully landscaped with more than $75,000 worth of donated and loaned plants and trees, raised beds, decking, koi pond and wrap-around decking, and completely furnished and decorated with similarly valued furnishings and artwork (all on loan) in two round-the-clock days.

At least 50 people worked on the house and now it's open and full of visitors. Remember Virgil's famous metaphor of the beehive in The Aeneid? Well, update it with a sleek modern design instead of a battlefield and there you have it: All action figures, all the time. Arthur Brown's big beautiful baroque dome is looking down at all the activity and beaming.

Outside and in. A zig-zag promenade leads through drought-tolerant plants and grasses to an ngawa-like entry deck (a Japanese form of slim deck) made of composite wood. A rainwater cachement system is used for irrigation and there's even a gray water system that recirculates water collected from sinks and shower to the toilet. The entire landscape and bioswale roof was designed by Nick Thayer of Late Afternoon Garden Design.

Setting the stage for what lies within is a rectangular lotus pool with a centerpiece made of 500 recycled Grey Goose vodka bottle bottoms. (How's that for a little liquid serenity—it brings to mind Herb Caen's affection for what he called "vitamin v.")

Open the front door in the cement board and FSC (Forest Stewardship Council)-certified wood-sheathed wall and to the left is the main living space containing kitchen and dining area; to the right are the bathroom and the bedroom. All three rooms open to decks. Windows and doors use double pane, low-e glass. A Green "living roof" is the icing on the gateau—I mean chateau.

A Gallery of Green. All furnishings, fixtures, and finishes are as environmentally friendly as possible.

You'll see:

FSC-certified wood cabinetry and flooring

Concrete counters using recycled fly ash and rice hulls

Bathroom sink made of recycled pulverized toilet porcelain

Recycled glass tiles in the shower

The latest low-flow plumbing fixtures (including a dual flush toilet)

Walls covered with no-VOC (volatile organic compounds) paint

Energy Star appliances

Furnishings and artwork from a wide variety of green-oriented manufacturers, artists and websites. For example the sofa bed in the living room is made of woven Kraft paper and the living room rug is 12% wool and 88% paper.

In short, there's a whole lot of green going on. Like an architectural version of compressed files on a zip disk, mkLotus expands horizons the moment you enter. It remains in place until the end of West Coast Green—this Saturday.  And then, like San Francisco's famous fog, it moves on.

Green delicious kitchen: pale green no-VOC wall color from Yolo Colorhouse; concrete counter containing recycled rice hulls by Concrete Works; wall art by Lisa Bartleson;  bamboo-themed elements from Dandelion; cork bowl from Branch.

Weaving eco-friendly materials together: curved chair made of sea grass from McGuire ; leather and wood chair from Palecek; wool and paper rug from Merida; vase from Dandelion; bamboo coffee table by Alex Suvajac.

Shower power: The walls are covered in recycled glass from Bedrock Industries.

Dream of green: sustainably harvested cherry bed from Room & Board; 100% wool bedspread from Fold Bedding; pillows from Branch. (That's Sunset photographer Tom Story, shooting for an upcoming issue.)

Dateline: Oroville, CA

By Daniel Gregory, Sunset senior editor

The cavernous XtremeHomes factory at Oroville, an hour north of Sacramento, was full of activity last Monday as the media gathered for an update on mkLotus, the latest green prefab. We saw the fully installed folding glass panels, which are called Nanawalls, "Disapparate"—to use a J. K. Rowling term—three sides of the living-dining room. They silently glide away to unite inside and outside: this is how to live large in a small space. Bedroom and living room walls are almost completely taped. Next will come the cabinets, flooring, siding, plumbing fixtures, appliances, and paint. And soon the house will roll down the highway to West Coast Green. It was exciting to see the progress and though the drive back to SF took a while, a timely root beer float kept the occupants of my hybrid happy. How green, I mean, cool, is that?!

mkLotus update

By Daniel P. Gregory, Sunset senior editor, Home

The countdown has begun: Construction of mkLotus—the green prefab destined for San Francisco Civic Center as part of West Coast Green—is well under way at the factory. The architect Michelle Kaufmann just sent this snapshot. The big corner windows are framed in and most of the walls are up. I'll post more images after I tour the factory myself in a week or so.

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.