Michelle Kaufmann: Difference between revisions
→EcoPrinciples: i no longer am working with these principles. they are evolving + don't need to be on my wiki page Tag: section blanking |
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Kaufmann lives with her husband and their two dogs in their Glidehouse in Marin County, California. |
Kaufmann lives with her husband and their two dogs in their Glidehouse in Marin County, California. |
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== EcoPrinciples & Process == |
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Michelle Kaufmann's architectural designs are based on a theory of 5 EcoPrinciples.<ref name="MKC">http://www.michellekaufmann.com/</ref> |
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1. Smart Design: |
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Is How you proactively set yourslef up for successful [[green living]].<ref name="MKBC">http://www.michellekaufmann.blog.com/</ref>It has to do with thinking of long-term sustainability of the new eco-friendly lifestyle the client is looking to attain. |
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2. Eco Materials: |
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The belief in using high quality [[eco-friendly]] elements. She aims to find ones that are both "long-lasting and low maintenance" and also that reduce waste.<ref name="MKC"/> |
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3. Energy Efficiency: |
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Kaufmann proposes the making of homes using [[Greenhouse]] prospectives. Her homes generate "zero electricity bills through innovations leading to more energy efficient building".<ref name="MKC"/> |
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4. Water Conservation: |
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This consists of making homes which reduce water intake and also re-use water.<ref name="MKC"/> |
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5. Healthy Environment: |
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The homes become healthy living environments; they are "free of off-gassing materials and include air filtration systems, etc.<ref name="MKC"/>" This is the step that truly sets apart Kaufmann's houses as eco-friendly environments. It sets them over the edge by including details most architects are willing to pass by. |
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Michelle Kaufmann designs all throughout the United States in collaboration with the site that has been chosen by the client <ref><http://www.mkdesigns.com/category/faqs/company</ref>. The client then has "two paths" from which to go: either choose from the pre-configured home designs available at the time or have a completely custom design which can be either a home, multifamily community or eco-resort.<ref>http://michellekaufmann.com/2010/08/process-2/</ref> Kaufmann's original design company explained the process in a step by step basis as the obtaining of land, the obtaining of finances, purchasing order, contract, engineering, permitting, manufacturing ship & setting and finally the final walkthrough.<ref name="MKDC">http://www.mkdesigns.com/process </ref> Within these steps there are a percentage of the final cost that the client would have to pay throughout the process.<ref name="MKDC"/> |
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== Bankruptcy == |
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Kaufmann's eco-friendly architecture was widely received by the public but unfortunately her first architectural firm called it quits in 2009, after being open for five years.<ref name="LATBC">http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2009/05/green-prefab-firm-michelle-kaufmann-designs-is-closing.html</ref> The close was somewhat shocking given the office's initial promise. The original Michelle Kaufmann Designs studio "grew to include two dozen staffers, operated its own factory outside Seattle and completed more than 40 prefab houses, most of them on the West Coast".<ref name="LATBC"/> A series of attempts were made to keep the studio going despite some financial drawbacks; but soon it became clear that the turmoil from the recession had hit Kaufmann's company hard. As Kaufmann put it in her blog: "Despite our best efforts, the financial meltdown and plunging home values have caught up with us. The recent closing of a factory partner, as well as the gridlocked lending faced by homeowners, has proved more than our small company can bear.<ref name="MKBC"/>" Kaufmann continued working through her client's after that first company had shut-down. She was more than willing to send her remaining client's "in a position to build with other firms, if they choose".<ref name="LATBC"/> In 2010 after having passed the hard times, Kaufmann launched a new design firm.<ref>http://www.ecohomemagazine.com/modular-building/michelle-kaufmann-update.aspx</ref> The new Mk Designs now works in collaboration with a sister brand "Blu Homes".<ref>http://www.bluhomes.com/</ref> |
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== Projects == |
== Projects == |
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Some of Kaufmann's most noted |
Some of Kaufmann's most noted projects and "pre-fab" homes include: |
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-Glidehouse: The first one was built for Kaufmann and her husband Kevin Cullen in 2004. A full-size replica of this home was built for the National Building Museum in Washington DC from May 2006 through June 2007 as a part of the exhibit The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture and Design. The style is influenced by "japanese homes, along with Eichler and Eames, as well as the rural farm buildings from my childhood in Iowa".<ref>http://www.re-nest.com/re-nest/green-tours/green-tour-michelle-kaufmanns-very-own-glidehouse-049324</ref> <ref>http://www.nbm.org/media/video/the-glidehouse.html</ref> |
-Glidehouse: The first one was built for Kaufmann and her husband Kevin Cullen in 2004. A full-size replica of this home was built for the National Building Museum in Washington DC from May 2006 through June 2007 as a part of the exhibit The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture and Design. The style is influenced by "japanese homes, along with Eichler and Eames, as well as the rural farm buildings from my childhood in Iowa".<ref>http://www.re-nest.com/re-nest/green-tours/green-tour-michelle-kaufmanns-very-own-glidehouse-049324</ref> <ref>http://www.nbm.org/media/video/the-glidehouse.html</ref> |
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-Sunset Breezehouse: The first one was built in collaboration with Sunset Magazine in 2005. It was unique in its use of areas susceptible to wind, making a "BreezeSpace" in the center for ample light and air ventilation to be enjoyed.<ref name="PFC">http://www.prefabs.com/PrefabHomes/MichelleKaufmannDesigns/SunsetBreezehouse.htm</ref> |
-Sunset Breezehouse: The first one was built in collaboration with Sunset Magazine in 2005. It was unique in its use of areas susceptible to wind, making a "BreezeSpace" in the center for ample light and air ventilation to be enjoyed.<ref name="PFC">http://www.prefabs.com/PrefabHomes/MichelleKaufmannDesigns/SunsetBreezehouse.htm</ref> It is a very modern home using mainly geometrical shapes for its indoor and outdoor space, which goes along with most of her designs. Four models of this home were previously available to customers, all being single-level and intended for a single-family.<ref name="PFC"/> The new Mk Designs will offers a custom pre-fab home similar to the Sunset Breezehouse model starting in January of 2011, renamed the "Breezehouse".<ref> http://www.mkdesigns.com/homes</ref> |
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-MKLotus: One of the models for this home was built in front of San Francisco's city hall in 2007 as a part of West Coast Green conference on sustainable building. This design is among the smallest of the open-space homes offered by MK designs. It includes a "front wrap-around deck and enclosed meditation garden" and is "Intended as a vacation or small stand-alone home".<ref>http://www.prefabs.com/PrefabHomes/MichelleKaufmannDesigns/mkLotus.htm</ref> It uses the same sleek, geometric shapes as her other designs. |
-MKLotus: One of the models for this home was built in front of San Francisco's city hall in 2007 as a part of West Coast Green conference on sustainable building. This design is among the smallest of the open-space homes offered by MK designs. It includes a "front wrap-around deck and enclosed meditation garden" and is "Intended as a vacation or small stand-alone home".<ref>http://www.prefabs.com/PrefabHomes/MichelleKaufmannDesigns/mkLotus.htm</ref> It uses the same sleek, geometric shapes as her other designs. |
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-MKSolaire: (http://www.msichicago.org/whats-here/exhibits/smart-home/) was exhibited at the [[Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago)]] within a show titled "The Smart Home: Green and Wired" which was open from May 2008- January 2009. The Solaire has been "redesigned to reflect the lifestyle of a couple looking to minimize home maintenance, maximize efficiency and settle in to a space that not only is beautiful, but functional<ref>http://www.msichicago.org/whats-here/exhibits/smart-home/</ref>". |
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-MKSolaire: an urban infill design |
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==Awards and honors== |
==Awards and honors== |
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Revision as of 02:54, 9 November 2010
 | This biographical article is written like a résumé. (December 2008) |
Michelle Kaufmann is a leading green architect and designer with Michelle Kaufmann Studio ([1]). Her design philosophy revolves around a belief that what we build and how we build should improve the environment rather than harm it.
Kaufmann grew up in Iowa where she developed a keen understanding of the relationship between humankind and the environment. Kaufmann received her undergraduate degree from Iowa State University and her Masters from Princeton University. Prior to founding Michelle Kaufmann Designs, Kaufmann was an Associate with Frank O. Gehry and had worked with him in Santa Monica.
When Kaufmann relocated to Northern California, she found a lack of affordable, sustainable, well-designed homes, and soon realized she could make a difference through her architecture and subsequently founded Michelle Kaufmann Designs. She has been a lecturer and keynote speaker for numerous events, and has taught at Iowa State University and Woodbury University.
In 2002, Kaufmann founded Michelle Kaufmann Designs, a full service architecture firm specializing in sustainable design. The firm designed and built single-family and multi-family housing using prefabricated modular technology. Kaufmann's mission is to make thoughtful, sustainable design more accessible by mass producing green homes, thereby making them more affordable to more people. The firm was closed in May 2009 and Kaufmann started a new design firm, Michelle Kaufmann Studio [2]. Her firm offers customers a variety of "pre-fab" (previously fabricated) homes as well as options for completely custom built homes as well.[1]
Kaufmann lives with her husband and their two dogs in their Glidehouse in Marin County, California.
EcoPrinciples & Process
Michelle Kaufmann's architectural designs are based on a theory of 5 EcoPrinciples.[2]
1. Smart Design: Is How you proactively set yourslef up for successful green living.[3]It has to do with thinking of long-term sustainability of the new eco-friendly lifestyle the client is looking to attain.
2. Eco Materials: The belief in using high quality eco-friendly elements. She aims to find ones that are both "long-lasting and low maintenance" and also that reduce waste.[2]
3. Energy Efficiency: Kaufmann proposes the making of homes using Greenhouse prospectives. Her homes generate "zero electricity bills through innovations leading to more energy efficient building".[2]
4. Water Conservation: This consists of making homes which reduce water intake and also re-use water.[2]
5. Healthy Environment: The homes become healthy living environments; they are "free of off-gassing materials and include air filtration systems, etc.[2]" This is the step that truly sets apart Kaufmann's houses as eco-friendly environments. It sets them over the edge by including details most architects are willing to pass by.
Michelle Kaufmann designs all throughout the United States in collaboration with the site that has been chosen by the client [4]. The client then has "two paths" from which to go: either choose from the pre-configured home designs available at the time or have a completely custom design which can be either a home, multifamily community or eco-resort.[5] Kaufmann's original design company explained the process in a step by step basis as the obtaining of land, the obtaining of finances, purchasing order, contract, engineering, permitting, manufacturing ship & setting and finally the final walkthrough.[6] Within these steps there are a percentage of the final cost that the client would have to pay throughout the process.[6]
Bankruptcy
Kaufmann's eco-friendly architecture was widely received by the public but unfortunately her first architectural firm called it quits in 2009, after being open for five years.[7] The close was somewhat shocking given the office's initial promise. The original Michelle Kaufmann Designs studio "grew to include two dozen staffers, operated its own factory outside Seattle and completed more than 40 prefab houses, most of them on the West Coast".[7] A series of attempts were made to keep the studio going despite some financial drawbacks; but soon it became clear that the turmoil from the recession had hit Kaufmann's company hard. As Kaufmann put it in her blog: "Despite our best efforts, the financial meltdown and plunging home values have caught up with us. The recent closing of a factory partner, as well as the gridlocked lending faced by homeowners, has proved more than our small company can bear.[3]" Kaufmann continued working through her client's after that first company had shut-down. She was more than willing to send her remaining client's "in a position to build with other firms, if they choose".[7] In 2010 after having passed the hard times, Kaufmann launched a new design firm.[8] The new Mk Designs now works in collaboration with a sister brand "Blu Homes".[9]
Projects
Some of Kaufmann's most noted projects and "pre-fab" homes include:
-Glidehouse: The first one was built for Kaufmann and her husband Kevin Cullen in 2004. A full-size replica of this home was built for the National Building Museum in Washington DC from May 2006 through June 2007 as a part of the exhibit The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture and Design. The style is influenced by "japanese homes, along with Eichler and Eames, as well as the rural farm buildings from my childhood in Iowa".[10] [11]
-Sunset Breezehouse: The first one was built in collaboration with Sunset Magazine in 2005. It was unique in its use of areas susceptible to wind, making a "BreezeSpace" in the center for ample light and air ventilation to be enjoyed.[12] It is a very modern home using mainly geometrical shapes for its indoor and outdoor space, which goes along with most of her designs. Four models of this home were previously available to customers, all being single-level and intended for a single-family.[12] The new Mk Designs will offers a custom pre-fab home similar to the Sunset Breezehouse model starting in January of 2011, renamed the "Breezehouse".[13]
-MKLotus: One of the models for this home was built in front of San Francisco's city hall in 2007 as a part of West Coast Green conference on sustainable building. This design is among the smallest of the open-space homes offered by MK designs. It includes a "front wrap-around deck and enclosed meditation garden" and is "Intended as a vacation or small stand-alone home".[14] It uses the same sleek, geometric shapes as her other designs.
-MKSolaire: (http://www.msichicago.org/whats-here/exhibits/smart-home/) was exhibited at the Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago) within a show titled "The Smart Home: Green and Wired" which was open from May 2008- January 2009. The Solaire has been "redesigned to reflect the lifestyle of a couple looking to minimize home maintenance, maximize efficiency and settle in to a space that not only is beautiful, but functional[15]".
Awards and honors
In 2007 Kaufmann was named the Henry Ford of green homes by Sierra Club Magazine.[16] Kaufmann’s work is widely published and her homes have been showcased in a number of museums, including the National Building Museum, the Vancouver Art Center, MOCA in Los Angeles,[17] and most recently, in the “Smart Home: Green and Wired” exhibit at Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago).[18] Top Firm Award 2008 from Residential Architect magazine
Innovations Award 2008 from Social Venture Network
Best Architecture Website from WebAward. 2008
Kaufmann was named "Advocate of the Year 2009" by the National Association of Home Builders, and her firm MKD was named TOP FIRM 2008 by Residential Architect.
In September 2010, Kaufmann was featured on an article entitled "10 Talented Women Architects" from Apartment Therapy.[19]
website www.michellekaufmann.com (http://www.michellekaufmann.com)
Written Works
Prefab Green, published by Gibbs Smith, release date January 2009 (http://www.amazon.com/PreFab-Green-Michelle-Kaufman/dp/1423604970/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1226594584&sr=8-1) written and designed by Cathy Remick
References
- ^ http://www.michellekaufmann.com/category/homes/
- ^ a b c d e http://www.michellekaufmann.com/
- ^ a b http://www.michellekaufmann.blog.com/
- ^ <http://www.mkdesigns.com/category/faqs/company
- ^ http://michellekaufmann.com/2010/08/process-2/
- ^ a b http://www.mkdesigns.com/process
- ^ a b c http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2009/05/green-prefab-firm-michelle-kaufmann-designs-is-closing.html
- ^ http://www.ecohomemagazine.com/modular-building/michelle-kaufmann-update.aspx
- ^ http://www.bluhomes.com/
- ^ http://www.re-nest.com/re-nest/green-tours/green-tour-michelle-kaufmanns-very-own-glidehouse-049324
- ^ http://www.nbm.org/media/video/the-glidehouse.html
- ^ a b http://www.prefabs.com/PrefabHomes/MichelleKaufmannDesigns/SunsetBreezehouse.htm
- ^ http://www.mkdesigns.com/homes
- ^ http://www.prefabs.com/PrefabHomes/MichelleKaufmannDesigns/mkLotus.htm
- ^ http://www.msichicago.org/whats-here/exhibits/smart-home/
- ^ Innovators: The Henry Ford of Green Homes - July/August 2007 - Sierra Magazine - Sierra Club
- ^ http://www.moca-la.org/museum/exhibitiondetail.php?&id=385
- ^ Museum of Science and Industry | What's Here | Exhibits | Smart Home: Green + Wired
- ^ http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/architecture/10-talented-women-architects-126069