Comments on: PREFAB FRIDAY: Cellophane House by KieranTimberlake

By: HowardG

HowardG — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 11:51:49 +0000

Wha! A house to bring to the ‘masses’. How’s that? An 1800 sq ft glass / aluminium blockhouse now touted for sale at $US1.75MILLION! OK MOMA is either raising funds or KT are getting their investment back. Whatever… The intent is overrun by intellectualising a simple equation. form + function / cost … or a variation if it’s for a price sensitive appliaction. It sure looks like KT or MOMA or both believe their own publicity aka self-importance.

Despite the lovely-ish compositing with integrated country and seaside vistas the ‘cellophane’ does NOT fit either of those environments; too stark, garish, angular, industrial and intrusive. It works in a city – nowhere else. That could account for the NYC price tag – and exclusion from it stated intent for the ‘masses’. More like massive. And the aluminium IS a big problem. The Navy Chair or Barstool this aint.
Nah…

By: ark

ark — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:09:21 +0000

This concept has relevance to disaster relief……transitional shelters were erected in Aceh Jaya……and subsequently permanent structures built………..I believe that the original structure could have been engineered to provide the core of an adaptable unit………one floor off ground to avoid flooding then a double height volume which could be subdivided as required over time……then clip on balconies and shades could be added features …..showing how such objects can be linked together would form another component of design.
what was built was too inflexible/inappropriate/ and the value cum usefulness to original cabins was missed.

By: Olivia Chen

Olivia Chen — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 18:03:50 +0000

CORRECTION: As two people have pointed out, the statistic for the house’s square footage is incorrect. It is actually 1800, not 18,000. The post has been edited, and thanks for pointing out the mistake!

By: organicgrid

organicgrid — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 19:45:17 +0000

Aesthetically a very pleasing design, however how is home sustainable, green or eco-friendly at 18,000 SQ FT?

An the average lifecycle of a building is a mere 10 years?

Is this some kind of joke?

No… this is greenwashing!

By: 3304hl

3304hl — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 14:31:59 +0000

I agree with R202; this whole item is a bit of a joke.
“10 year lifecycle”;is this countng straw huts and shantytowns?
Iif you’re going to make a statement likethis back it up.

Aluminum structures have been tried before. In fact, I’m pretty sure I saw them here at least htree years ago.
Aluminum is a very good contuctor which is why we often use it for electric wire. Unfortunately this also makes it a great thermal bridge to the outdoors.

Lastly, an 18000 sq. ft. house ???
VERY green

By: R2D2

R2D2 — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 16:58:06 +0000

10 year lifecycle on buildings? Where do numbers like this come from? Furthermore, there’s no relevance to a number like this unless you’re trying to say it can be crappy because it’ll be levelled or gutted in ten years. … Oh wait, no, the owners are going to take the building apart and set it up somewhere else. these would be perfect for migrant workers or a logging camp. Get your heads out of the clouds. Tards.

An aluminum structure? I thought this was supposed to be green. Aluminum is filthy material to produce and should be used sparingly.

As homes, these things are underdesigned, under insulated junk. Furthermore, that the same thoughtless design has been plinked into numerous sites with little or no modification illustrates that there is no thought to context adaptations here. I want to see floor plans, or floor plan flexibility demonstrated. I want to see a variety of skins too. PV integrated into the glazing… big woop. That’ll keep the place cool in the summer! Pft. And as for those ventilation cavities that keep the place warm in winter, cool in summer… genius.

This is garbage.