IKEA Portland and Ideabox Launch Their First Collaborative Prefab Home, Aktiv.

Oregon-based Ideabox has collaborated with IKEA to create a new prefab collection which debuted this month at the Portland Home & Garden Show.





The collaboration introduces "Aktiv", the first in a new line of prefab houses designed by ideabox and appointed by IKEA.




Working with IKEA designers, ideabox designed aktiv around IKEA systems. In the kitchen, IKEA offers a lot of flexibility in kitchen cabinets. Ideabox designed the layout, and their clients can select the colors. IKEA appliances offer state-of-the-art cooking, so they included an induction cooktop and convection oven.




A counter depth refrigerator keeps food fresh, and cabinet faced dishwashers provide seamless functionality. Proven by millions walking on them in IKEA stores, aktiv offers IKEA flooring, a perfect match for active Northwest lifestyles.



For those IKEA fans, the pure delight of walking and imagining their way through an IKEA store quickly turns to the daunting task of assembly when they get home. However, when your ideabox aktiv arrives, all of the cabinets, countertops, and flooring are installed.




The bath features a “huge” two sink vanity and four drawers along with a storage cabinet. The bedroom features the amazingly functional IKEA built-in series of closet systems.




Think of it as your own personal euro designer flat -only where you want it. Every bit an ideabox, from the energy efficiency to the cool assembly of materials, aktiv by ideabox truly is modern living made remarkably easy.



Jim Russell (above), owner and principal at Ideabox, has a background in energy, having worked for Oregon's Department of Energy and Energy Trust at Oregon. He's passionate about delivering energy-efficient homes — as long as they have a design edge. "We want our homes to be so rockin' cool that people just want them," Russell said. "No Birkenstocks, no flannel, no granola."


above: Jim Russell, ideabox owner, stands in front of the Aktiv at the Portland Home and Garden Show

The home gets a boost in its quest for maximum energy efficiency in part due to its small footprint. Aktiv is compact at 745-square-feet and carries an all-inclusive price tag of about $86,000. From order to delivery, an Ideabox home takes about eight weeks, with two to three of that in building time.

The exterior of the Aktiv in Portland:




The landscaping for the project was done for Ikeabox by Schutlz and Long Landscape Architecture of Portland. Recycled asphalt replaces gravel and water-efficient dwarf plants are fed by a drip irrigation system.



images and info courtesy of ideabox, Sustainable Business Oregon and photographer Cathy Cheney

A Different Kind of California Roll. You Can Live In This One, A Cool Modern Prefab.

A pre-fabricated house designed for the desert by Christopher Daniel of Violent Volumes - The California Roll House, 2011.



The following text was written by the designer of the structure and is reprinted here:
At times, the simplest form with least manipulation from its original form can offer visual amenities and adapted solution to the context. California Roll prefabricated house takes this methodology to create its morphological adaptation to its environment : desert. Homogeneous exterior material which provides high grade of energy efficiency and reflects heat from the sun covers the entire surface except for glass panels which is electronically controlled to change its transparency.




Modularization of every structure members and finish materials are maximized to provide mobility with rapid assembly and disassembly on site.



To sustain its challenging structural stand, carbon fibre truss frame under neath the exterior material holds the entire architecture. Hydraulic powered automatic doors and security system is used for main entrance door which allows less spaces to operate the door mechanism. California Roll house features these latest technologies applied to architecture which breaks the boundary of product or vehicle design and architectural design which brings more mobility to living spaces.



Plain surface on the ground extended from exterior surface provides paved area for out door activities which requires flat and artificial surface different from desert sand surface. As well as surface on the ground, inside of exterior shell is covered with fibre reinforced plastic panels.




Modularized skylights and windows along the exterior surface can be placed at desired location to light its interior space to meet resident’s requirement from his own usage of the space.




Passive and subtle control of privacy of bedroom area is provided by curtain divider and bookshelf with translucent midpart.



These parts allows the residents to have sense of privacy by delicate visual hints over as well as providing lights through.



Overall, the privacy in California Roll is controlled rather passively with resident’s awareness than tight blocking of spaces in-between.




Main Entrance/ Front Door
Since the main entrance is on the sloped wall, the door mechanism should be designed in unconventional way. Adopting ideas from automotive design industry, hydraulic powered automatic door controlled by number lock panel is installed on the sloped wall as main entrance to minimize the space required for operation to avoid contact with user while in operation. When the door is fully open, the clearance height is up to 2 meters.




The door opens into two pieces, the upper piece lifts up over head, and the lower piece unfolds onto the floor for visitors to step on. When the door is completely closed, the material on the outside of door continues with the material of the exterior surface to achieve conformity and hide the entrance.

Automatic main door mechanism diagram:



Architectural plans:






Architect/ Designer Christopher Daniel:

images and info courtesy of Christopher Daniel and Violent Volumes

Taliesin Students Build Prefab Mod Sustainable Home In The Desert

T A L I E S I N . M O D . F A B TM

The Taliesin Mod.FabTM is an example of simple, elegant, and sustainable living in the desert. The one-bedroom, 600-square-foot prototype residence relies on panelized construction to allow for speed and economy on site or in a factory.



It can be connected to utilities or be "unplugged," relying on low-consumption fixtures, rainwater harvesting, greywater re-use, natural ventilation, solar orientation, and photovoltaics to reduce energy and water use. The structure is dimensioned and engineered to be transportable via roadway.








above photos, copyright 2009 Bill Timmerman

The protoype:



The floorplan:

Construction in progress:







above images of the building in progress, courtesy of Nick Mancusi, Ada Rose Williams, Christian Butler, Jeff Graham and Ryan Hewson from the Prairie Mod Blog

 
The Taliesin Mod.FabTM was designed and built by graduate and undergraduate students at the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture with the faculty guidance of Michael P. Johnson and Jennifer Siegal, project manager Christian Butler, recent M.Arch graduate, and assistant project manager Nick Mancusi, current BAS student.

Student participants in design and construction (alphabetical): Dakotah Apostolou, Ebbie Azimi, Thai Blackburn, Christian Butler, Jillian Brooks, Emil Crystal, Michael DesBarres, Daniel Dillow, Dave Frazee, Jeff Graham, Ryan Hewson, Erik Krautbauer, Nick Mancusi, Marietta Pagkalou, Lauren Rybinski, Andrea Tejada, Maya Ward-Karet, Hui Ee Wong, Todd Lehmenkuler, Russell Mahoney, Simon DeAguerro, Taryn Seymour

To see all the companies involved in this project, go to the bottom of the page here.

The structure can be visited on the student-led Taliesin West Desert Shelter Tour, Saturdays at 1:30, mid-November through mid-April.