Blue Sky Homes / Taalman Koch
Prototype property
Blue Sky Homes, the green building company whose prototype property was featured in Dwell magazine earlier this year, is set to commence its next project in January, with others in various stages of development. In addition, noted architects such as Linda Taalman & Alan Koch–the couple behind the famed, off-the-grid itHouse–have begun using Blue Sky Homes’ revolutionary Blue Sky Frame (patent pending) as the foundation for their own designs. Taalman-Koch have two current projects using the Blue Sky Frame: the Clearlake itHouse and the itHouse Cabin, both under construction in California. More images and description after the break.
Blue Sky frame
The reason the Blue Sky Frame is so attractive to clients and architects alike is twofold: echo-friendliness and speed of building.
SPEED: The frame is made of cold-formed, light-gauge, galvanized steel (as opposed to the traditionally used wood and/or structural steel). Unlike most prefab homes, all the steel elements (which are manufactured with up to 70% recycled metal) are factory-fabricated and shipped flat to the construction site, where—erector-set-like—they’re rapidly bolted together without expensive site-welding or waste. The entire frame goes up on Day One without a dumpster in sight! The house is weatherproof and ready for interior work by Day Five, and construction is complete within six to eight weeks.
Clearlake itHouse
GREEN: Each house in the Blue Sky Homes online catalog also comes with a multitude of ultra-green options. (An added green/speed bonus is that the Blue Sky Home is especially adept in steep or rugged terrain, with the entire house being able to sit on just a few steel columns, avoiding expensive, destructive, and time-consuming earth work—and making any floor plan possible since no interior walls are load-bearing.)
itHouse Cabin
Simply put, nothing is built faster, stronger, greener, more flexible, or more durable than a Blue Sky Home.
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- Prototype property
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- Blue Sky frame
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- Clearlake itHouse
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- itHouse Cabin
You know, great to see Blue Sky Homes getting coverage, but just as with Dwell no mention is made of o2 Architects, who came up with the building system and designed all the Blue Sky models…
http://www.o2arch.com
Who was the Architect of the Blue Sky Home?
Lance O’Donnell of o2 Architecture.
I visited the home this fall and the photographs don’t do it enough justice. Over all, great project with great attention to detail in a breathtaking setting. Kudos to the architect, who ever that is…
Yes, it’s from O2 Architecture in Palm Springs..
Principle is Lance O’Donnell..
I’m not sure that the steel frame idea is that revolutionary or practical. However, both of these home designs are made relevant by the excellent design work done by the architects. It is a shame that appropriate credit cannot be accurately assigned…
These houses are wonderful. With their focus on green design they should be entered to the Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction. They would have a great shot at winning an award.
Online Entry form: http://bit.ly/a7rwWV
More Info: http://on.fb.me/holcim-awards
not sure why this is architecture when the mobile home industry solved this problem decades ago and the aesthetic proposed here is dwell circa 2001. . which wasn’t even interesting back then.
Pre-fab is a phoney issue that just hides the means of production off site and gives an excuse for limited architectural imagination. This is a very small idea masquerading as a bigger one.
Anton, respectfully you are missing the point. A house like this is in no way similar to a mobile home. They offer large open spaces, lots of windows, quick high-quality construction, and can easily built off-grade. They are also not pre-fab in the traditional sense – since the parts are all site assembled. As a result they don’t have the same limitations that pre-fab modules have with shipping and size constraints. I’d say this is a small example for a big idea.
10:11 PM Dec 21st
Blue Sky Homes / Taalman Koch: Prototype property Blue Sky Homes, the green building company… http://goo.gl/fb/tRcjq
10:12 PM Dec 21st
RT @ArchDaily: Blue Sky Homes / Taalman Koch http://archdai.ly/hlHZzF #architecture
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RT @ArchDaily: Blue Sky Homes / Taalman Koch http://archdai.ly/hlHZzF #architecture
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RT @ArchDaily: Blue Sky Homes / Taalman Koch http://archdai.ly/hlHZzF #architecture
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Blue Sky Homes / Taalman Koch: Prototype propertyBlue Sky Homes, the green building company whose prototyp… http://tinyurl.com/2asapsx
10:19 PM Dec 21st
RT @ArchDaily: Blue Sky Homes / Taalman Koch http://archdai.ly/hlHZzF #architecture
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RT @ArchDaily: Blue Sky Homes / Taalman Koch http://archdai.ly/hlHZzF #architecture
10:26 PM Dec 21st
Echo-friendly architecture and speed of building (entire frame in 1 day): Blue Sky Homes by Taalman Koch http://t.co/MjQ4G7L via @archdaily
10:35 PM Dec 21st
Blue Sky Homes / Taalman Koch via ArchDaily – Prototype property Blue Sky Homes, the green building … http://tinyurl.com/27nht2n
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Blue Sky Homes / Taalman Koch: Prototype propertyBlue Sky Homes, the green building company whose prototype prop… http://bit.ly/fQlx8b
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Blue Sky Homes / Taalman Koch: Prototype property Blue Sky Homes, the green building company… http://goo.gl/fb/gyuPB
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11:47 PM Dec 21st
Reading: "http://www.archdaily.com/97650/blue-sky-homes-taalman-koch/"( http://twitthis.com/zlbwbp )
1:30 AM Dec 22nd
RT @ArchDaily: Blue Sky Homes / Taalman Koch http://archdai.ly/hlHZzF #architecture
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Blue Sky Homes / Taalman Koch http://goo.gl/uaPKE #architecture
5:29 AM Dec 22nd
Blue Sky Homes. http://bit.ly/e3LEpI
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RT @ArchDaily: Blue Sky Homes / Taalman Koch http://archdai.ly/hlHZzF #architecture
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Blue Sky Homes / Taalman Koch | ArchDaily http://t.co/bd2Gmji via @archdaily – Boa casa em estrutura metalica.
2:29 PM Dec 22nd
Interesting. Blue Sky Homes / Taalman Koch #architecture http://pulsene.ws/z9Ac
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Blue Sky Homes / Taalman Koch | ArchDaily http://t.co/fitsQR9 via @archdaily
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foundations for green building: Blue Sky Homes / Taalman Koch | ArchDaily http://t.co/4RvNQni via @archdaily
2:25 AM Dec 23rd
Terrific system- Blue Sky Homes / Taalman Koch | ArchDaily http://bit.ly/fqm5Co
12:08 AM Dec 24th
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RT @ArchDaily: Blue Sky Homes / Taalman Koch http://archdai.ly/hlHZzF #architecture