Comments on: Plans Released to Builder for Rough Quote

By: 100K House Budget Review - Our Biggest Meeting to Date | 100khouse.com

100K House Budget Review - Our Biggest Meeting to Date | 100khouse.com — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 00:15:23 +0000

[...] 5 Construction had taken the past two weeks to come up with a comprehensive estimate based on the most recent design of both homes in the [...]

By: chad

chad — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 16:20:40 +0000

John – Thanks for the suggestion. We have new ideas for the facade to improve “eyes on the street” and the inviting look of the homes. We still must balance these aesthetic and community goals with the energy efficient goals of the home. Making the north side of the house area 60% windows would have a very negative effect on the efficiency of the home so we have to be careful…

By: John

John — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 05:19:50 +0000

Needs more windows on the front facing the street. The front facade should be 60% windows/40% wall.

Windows facing the street make a house friendly and inviting.

By: 100K House Facade Ideas | 100khouse.com

100K House Facade Ideas | 100khouse.com — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 22:50:15 +0000

[...] I don’t necessarily dislike what we have come up with I do agree with everyone’s comments so far and feel there is room for improvement. Below I have assembled a few images of some example [...]

By: Roman

Roman — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 21:29:45 +0000

I too have been following this blog with considerable interest and can’t help but comment on the aesthetics. While I understand that the aim of this project reaches beyond form and primarily aims at function, I can’t help thinking that an awkward exterior takes away from the desirability of the home. This ofcourse isn’t a professional opinion, but I hope you revise the exterior design to make it a little more pleasing to the eye.

By: Charles

Charles — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 00:45:52 +0000

Perhaps something round (window) to break up all the straight lines.

By: Shawn

Shawn — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 21:48:14 +0000

Thanks for the blogroll spot, Chad. It’s fun to see folks facing the same challenges and overcoming them. It keeps me going during those “dark” time when a lender flakes, a contractor drops the ball, or you simply tire of everyone saying, “no.”

Keep on keepin’ on!

By: chad

chad — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 13:52:42 +0000

Shawn,

Thanks for the feedback. You make good points. We’ll have to play with materials, colors and window size/placement some more.

I checked out your live/work blog and it looks great. It’s very similar to our blog and others we are following. Added it to our blogroll here. I like the post on SoyCrete concrete stain and was envisioning our floor being stained almost exactly like the picture shown in your post. I’ll post on this sometime in the future as well.

Thanks again and keep the comments coming. This is a critical time for feedback.

By: Shawn

Shawn — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 07:20:14 +0000

Hey Chad,

First, great job. Love the blog, admire the concept.

I’ve been quietly reading for some time now. I can appreciate the tradeoff between budget and aesthetics. However, with the new roof I think the designers have made a bit of a misstep. The “fortress” feeling is unavoidable. The monolithic feel (obviously accented by the grey rendering) seems overly-oppressive. The way the roof “rolls” off the back of the building exaggerates the sense of mass.

If the flat roof is truly not an option, then I’d suggest doing something with the sloped roof to break up the mass more. Selective application of color and materials will help enormously, but addressing the roof design first is imperative.

I also second the other comments on the windows. The style and placement augment the bunker-feeling. Saving energy is important, but so is daylight. Let the sun in brother!

Kudos on the efforts – can’t wait to see it become a reality!

By: Luca

Luca — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 00:41:03 +0000

I agree with Brandon and your wife too.

Here you are a couple of other interesting links:

http://www.katsufumikubota.jp/
I love Kubota’s Y-House very much!

http://av1architekten.de/projekte/frameset_betzenberg.htm