Green living publication, Natural Home, highlights the prefab modernist home of LivingHomes CEO and founder, Steve Glenn, in their July/August issue we just received today and we're just "green" with envy after taking a peek inside.
The Santa Monica home is basically a showcase dream home, filled with the latest and greatest in residential enviro-technology features, such as solar panels, an insulating living roof garden, LED lighting and recycled cellulose countertops, all which earned the home the first ever platinum rating from the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED for Home program. To boot, the Ray Kappe designed home is pretty easy on the eyes, while the smart design stresses admirable efficiency we can only hope will become the norm in home building in the near future. More photos of this model home under the cut...
Alexis' Modern Glass House 
Before & After: A Bathroom Goes From Pinky Peach to Sleek and Chic
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Tom Black Espadrille
20 Scrumptious Brunch Recipes 
Magic One-Ingredient Ice Cream 5 Ways: Peanut Butter, Nutella, and More
Comments (5)
I'd recommend checking out the site...there's plenty of more in-depth information addressing the issues. The home definitely benefits being located in Santa Monica, where you don't really need to worry about overheating thanks to the ocean temps. When I lived in nearby Venice, I didn't need any air conditioning despite living in a 1917 duplex with large windows all the way around on all four sides.
I love the house and it's design. Have not checked out the website itself yet but will.
The style of the home seems rather retro in it's structure. It gives me the feeling of something that might've been built in the 70's-80's w/ it's boxy shape etc.
As long as the windows have UV blocking properties and argon gas to help with heat build-up, having all those windows should not be too much of a problem. It does let in a lot of light and w/ proper ventilation and perhaps an attic fan, it should not take much to keep it cooler in the summer despite the windows.
Boomer, the home isn't going to hit all of your needs since it was constructed not only to be a model home, but also as a residence specific to its location (as any good architecture should). It's a fantastic outline of how homes can be fitted for the needs of specific regions.
Perhaps you'd feel at least somewhat better knowing the windows are marked as low-emittance insulated glass, and they've used polycarbonated glazing too.
I have to amend my previous comment with this. I just took a look at the rest of the pictures of this house and I love it.
I like many of the elements within the home and it definitely reminds me a lot of homes style wise that were built in the 60's and 70's in particular, especially with some of the wood paneling treatment, which looks like high grade plywood instead of your run of the mill paneling.
The layout, boxy design and all definitely has that retro feel to it. Another element is the flexible case goods upstairs and the folding walls to open/close spaces as needed. An element that is not used all that often but when it is, is often used to good effect. I've seen homes that were built in the 50's that deployed the folding accordion type curtains to separate 1 large room into 3 separate sleeping quarters for children in one example.
Nicely done and seems to fit in well with the rest of the Santa Monica neighborhood.
And to think this is a bachelor pad...