SPECIAL FEATURES:
Email
Home schooling: Firm upcycles classroom trailers into modular homes
Tapping into the abundance of retired schoolyard trailers, L.A. County-based architecture firm research+upcycle converts the forsaken structures into stylish and sustainable modular homes.
Fri, Jun 01 2012 at 4:17 PM
Related Topics:
Image: dave_mcmt/Flickr
Ahhh … the humble schoolyard portable. My mother, a Montessori teacher, spends nearly every day from September through June in the confines of one and I myself experienced a trailer-bound education for two years at a small, private middle school: not only was the school library located in a portable, but algebra class was held in a structure called RAG (“Room Above Gym”), an insulated, desk-filled cube that, as described, was installed on the roof of the school gym and accessible via an exterior staircase.
I never would have thought that these unattractive structures brought in to remedy the lack of space in overcrowded schools would ever have any sort of afterlife. Turns out, they do thanks to research+upcycle, a San Fernando Valley-based modular home company. The firm, founded by architect/contractor Robert Anderson, his son Chase, and Robert’s wife Petra, an interior designer, is in the business of procuring retired schoolyard portables and transforming them into what Los Angeles Times green living guru Susan Carpenter describes as “low-cost but high-style living spaces.”
Here’s how the whole classroom trailer upcycling process works: R+U purchases the used/unneeded 24 by 40-foot trailers for $10,000 a pop and salvage their steel frames, gutting the interiors and lifting the 8-foot ceilings by 15 inches. Initially, the company considered working with used shipping containers and construction office trailers but found classroom trailer units to be much easier and inexpensive to transform into dwellings at an off-site factory. Unlike shipping containers, for example, classroom trailers were originally built to provide shelter and conform to California's Division of the State Architect (DSA) standards. Additionally, most schoolyard trailers are composed of two 12 by 40-foot segments that are easy to reconfigure and play around with when deciding the final layout of a home. Basically, they're the ideal modular home building blocks.
So far, the firm has completed just one conversion, a 1,500-square foot prototype residence dubbed Trailer de Cuba. Composed of two trailers, the three-bedroom home in Granada Hills was completed for $100,000 in around ten weeks and managed to snag an Honor Award from the San Fernando Valley Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Inspired by the success and positive feedback from that home, R+U now offers three different preconfigured modular home designs including the iKnead1, Slim, and the Ombudsman. Prices for the homes start at $100 per square foot and include EnergyStar appliances, low-flow toilets and fixtures, zero-VOC paints and finishes, tankless water heaters, and oriented strand board (OSB) flooring. Possible add-ons include greywater systems, cool roofs, solar panels, and bamboo or FSC-certified wood flooring.
Of course, the big eco-factor here isn’t all the bells and whistles that R+U outfits each home with prior to and after delivery and installation:
By repurposing existing structures, there is far less energy consumed during the building process than there would be if we built each home entirely from scratch. Rather than allow these viable resources to go unused or eventually clog landfills, we incorporate them into each home we produce.
Good stuff although it's unclear if living an upcycled classroom trailer will cause its inhabitants to have frequent flashbacks to middle school algebra class. Personally, that's something I'd prefer not to experience again. For more, head on over to the research+upcycle homepage.
Via [L.A. Times]
The opinions expressed by MNN Bloggers and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of MNN.com. While we have reviewed their content to make sure it complies with our Terms and Conditions, MNN is not responsible for the accuracy of any of their information.
You might also like:
Sign in with one of these accounts to add your comment.
EDITORS' PICKS
Advertisement
TODAY'S MOST POPULAR ON
- Student science experiment finds plants won't grow near Wi-Fi router
- How to get a second crop of tomatoes -- for free
- Food fraud: 10 counterfeit products we commonly consume
- 10 cats made famous by YouTube
- 10 false facts most people think are true
- 7 places where you can get a free online education
- Stone Age people may have battled against a zombie apocalypse
- 9 habits that may do more harm than good
- 13 natural remedies for the ant invasion
- Man looks for missing cat, finds 'UFO' instead
From our sponsor
NEWSLETTER
ABOUT Matt Hickman
Eco-living expert blogs about best ways to go green at home.
Advertisement
Oh, that is very nice idea. Shipping containers indeed already has a very firm foundation...
Best,
Loweise
There are a HUGE number of USA citizens at the bottom of the pyramid-shaped socio-economic hierarchy and whose number are steadily growing that will never be able to afford a $100,000 house let alone the property taxes for the abode.
The USA needs to make some REAL changes to allow the lower-paid folks who actually make real contributions to the USA to afford a shanty of their own.
Oh, and the hierarchy is NOT "pyramid-shaped." Declaring this is idiotic.
The shape is tapered dramatically at BOTH ends, but there is no upper limit.
How does "low cost" equate to twice the cost of new construction? $100k or more for a 1,000 square foot house is not cheap.
Also, they're houses. HOUSES. Not homes. Houses. "Home can be the Pennsylvania Turnpike...." A home is where you live, whether it's a house, an apartment, or a place under a bridge. The building is a house. And all the real estate agents in the world can't change that.
The firm has converted three units into one home, not "just one retired portable classroom unit" as stated. It was also described as "Composed of two trailers". Matt Hickman, you need to do better research for your stories.
Elmont -- Sorry for the confusion. Yes, the firm has completed just one 3-bedroom prototype home in Granada Hills as described. According to the R+U website, two trailers were used for the project.
I was doubtful, but the finished home is beautiful.