Comments on: MODERN SUSTAINABLE HOME: The Beitcher Residence

By: Konstantinos Tolias

Konstantinos Tolias — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 19:04:53 +0000

It’s actually a prety nice house, I would say….

By: Lee

Lee — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 03:46:41 +0000

I love the fact that this family is making an effort to promote green building.It’s very easy for these guys writing negative comments,here’s an idea, finish off with something positive! maybe a way you have changed for the better?
I am in the process of constructing a green house,& find it very difficult to find imformation on greenbuilding.I have the solar panels for heating (heating water too!) Aluminum roof, low E windows, & today I just learned about strawboard cabinetry! ….so come on guys give me some idea’s…I’m all ears! I would love to hear about keeping the house cool.

By: Aug. 11 Design Review : AdamSchwabe.com

Aug. 11 Design Review : AdamSchwabe.com — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 16:52:45 +0000

[...] love houses like this, this, and this. Sounds like the whole pre-fab thing is going to take off like crazy [...]

By: ted

ted — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 23:01:02 +0000

i ride my bike past this house on my way to work every day. it’s on a corner lot very visible from the street, in a very expensive part of santa monica. lot alone is probably worth 2mm+. If it were for sale, it would be over $6m.

By: Uros Vitas

Uros Vitas — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 10:34:13 +0000

We have a sustainable design program Wood Processign & Furniture Design at University of Belgrade and we (students) liked this work very much:)

Here is the link to our catalog: http://rapidshare.com/files/46795681/University_of_Belgrade_-_Wood_Processing___Furniture_Design_2007.pdf

And our blog: http://universityofbelgrade.blogspot.com

By: Uros Vitas

Uros Vitas — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 10:27:03 +0000

Excellent design, especially the way wood is used in interior and exterior, and natural light celling.

By: graig sterling

graig sterling — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 02:11:16 +0000

This seem to be another” LIVING HOME” gig that should around the $250sqft mark,EXPENSIVE for sure but compared to those ghastly conventional chicken shacks witch are being built all over the place at a cost of $350-455$ sqft. for the a equivalent home,than it’s not that bad.The only thing i wonder is how accommodating are they?Are they going to make you jump through hoops in order to have the privilege to spend big money on there products as the LIVING HOMES gang does?
Also the ECO crowd should be careful here ,with them it’s only BASH,BASH,BASH,!!!
I echo the sentiment express by wkoriel,bryce and margie nothing will change if you try to have us return to caves ,on diet consisting of bugs and fruits.The people whom read this forum are of a mind witch is ecologically aware and friendly,we all want clean water,clean(organic)food and clean air.Your Moron in the white house just finish waisting a TRILLION DOLLARS for the IRAQIS HOLOCAUST and he ain’t through yet,for that money you could have :
*ALL non-commercial BUILDINGS outfitted with solar panels,wind-powered generator and hydrogen back-up motor
*next to every gas stations a government run electric car power station to “gas-up”a totally electric vehicle
*TOTAL conversion of the national electrical GRIDS to solar,win and hydrogen shutting down all dirty energy sources
*funding FOR TOTAL CLEAN ENERGY CONVERSATION of ALL enterprises in the nation at no cost to THEM!
*And finally the 4 major americans waterways [Pac.Coast Ocean/ATL.Coast Ocean/The great lakes and the Mississippi river]could be TOTALLY clean-up within 5YRS after the start.

all of that without having to fuck ourselves back to the stone age like so many of you are hell bend on doing

By: wkoriels

wkoriels — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 22:48:22 +0000

Folks need to read the article carefully before they react, especially when they are about to react negatively.

Most of the criticisms are about things that are explained in the article – there is an “…active solar thermal water heating system that heats the domestice hot water, in floor radiant heating, the pool and spa…”

Also there seems to be a bit of ‘poor-folks facism’ being tossed around above. Why can’t people have what they want and can afford and work to have it in a green manner.

Are we supposed to regress to the conditions that existed in post WWll USSR because the ice caps are melting.

Just wondering…

By: dianejwright

dianejwright — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 17:22:20 +0000

I’ve been inside this home and can tell you that it feels marvelously natural, welcoming, yet very contemporary. It’s not huge. It’s big, yes, but not in the least bit ostentatious or wasteful feeling. In fact, I think they’ve been quite modest for the area and have made the volume feel much more airy than it might otherwise be. Definitely not an eco-McMansion.

Listen, we can all find something to pick at when someone spends money to build a new structure but no one can be 100% perfect in anything we do. I applaud this owner and architect’s vision for this property. They had the funds to build in a much different manner but they chose to trump the norm the best way they could at the time. Money spent on these features trickle down and help us all in the long run. Let’s try to support these incremental changes and urge the next folks to do so to take even bigger steps. We can all do more but some is decidedly better than none, right?

By: Troy

Troy — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 14:37:52 +0000

Nice house to look at, with all the key buzz words to make you “feel” green and eco-friendly all over. The passive solar walls and natural light are good, but anyone who wants to truely design an efficient and energy economic home that leaves both a low carbon footprint and good neighborhood foot print should get a copy of the book “A Not so Big House” first. No need to live in a 10×10 box, but no need to live in a 3000sqft building on a 40×120 lot instead of a lot proportional house. No eco-McMansions please!
Also, while several people have asked for numbers on the house, I want to ask where are the “low” and “no-cost” green features. Why no curtains or blinds? No gray water system? Is there an on demand hot water heater to back up the solar unit or an old tank style? Florecent or LED light fixtures anywhere? Solar atic fan on the roof? Any trees or landscaping to shade the building?
Just some thoughts. This house seems to follow a trend I see of jumping on the green bandwagon, it’s just the horse isn’t fully hitched up!

By: Margie

Margie — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 14:27:30 +0000

jt: I don’t think there is a single person who reads this blog who doesn’t know that smaller is better when it comes to sustainability. As Bryce points out, it is significantly greener that its neighbors. We would all like to see affordable green homes but the fact is that new technologies are always expensive. We should be grateful to the rich people who buy them because that is the only way those technologies are ever going to be affordable.

CJ: Be careful about deciding what is necessary and what is not for other people. There are a whole lot of people in this world who need a spa or a pool for health reasons. I have a chronic condition that causes extreme muscle spasms and have required a hot tub for 20 years. It does much more for me than any medication ever has but it is important that I use it just before going to bed. A person across the street from me requires a pool for his exercises – and no, he can not do them at a public facility. BTW, my home is less than 1000 sq. ft.

By: nick wilder

nick wilder — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 14:19:09 +0000

What a lovely green lawn. I sure hope it’s not grass.

By: Daniel Moyer

Daniel Moyer — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 13:41:25 +0000

any elaboration on that “solar thermal water heating system” would be excellent for a future Inhabitat post

By: pedro raij

pedro raij — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 12:26:59 +0000

very nice. I will like to know more about the rooms distribution and the sq.meters of this project.

By: Bryce

Bryce — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 03:48:06 +0000

Though a pool and spa may not be entirely eco-friendly, at least these ones are part of a property that is likely significantly greener than most of its neighbors. I don’t see living green as necessarily equal to living austerely. There are ways to have an eco-friendly pool. Not heating it is one of the bigger ones. Keeping your spa covered when not in use is another way to retain much of the heat being put into it. In terms of hard numbers, the house would be greener without those items, but the owners have done more than most people do and I applaud those steps toward a green future.