1859 Sept | Oct 2018

Small, Smart & Sustainable
Bronson Studios Photography ideabox
/ Summer Lake / A Small Rural Retreat
Nestled in a prairie at the edge of the Great Basin, this modest,
shed-roofed home effortlessly blends in with its natural setting.
Located at the PLAYA Artist Retreat Center at Summer Lake,
the two-bedroom, 885-square-foot cottage was designed by
William Roach, PLAYA’s co-founder, and Nir Pearlson and Roger
Ota of Nir Pearlson Architects.
While the group referenced the history of the region with
the use of corrugated steel siding and a red metal roof on
the exterior, the interior framing was more forward-looking.
Panelized walls were built in a factory in Eugene, which cuts
down on waste and environmental impact during construction,
then erected on site and filled with double insulation. As
Pearlson recently wrote in Fine Homebuilding magazine: “Early
on, we decided to gear the design toward prefabrication, which
we believe is the future of affordable and sustainable housing.”
/ Salem / Eco-rated Prefab Homes
In the early aughts, architect Jim Russell saw a niche in the market.
“We were watching the initial versions of what prefab is today,” Russell
said. “We were looking at what was in the magazines and seeing that
they were all at a pretty high price point.” Russell, who has a career
background in energy and resource efficiency and factory-built housing,
decided to take a different approach and in 2006, launched ideabox,
which creates small, well-designed, affordable, green-rated prefab homes.
Based in Salem, ideabox now has a range of models and sizes to
choose from, starting from the 430-square-foot minibox for $111,800
and climbing to the 1,658-square-foot Roadrunner for $198,900. Each
home comes equipped with a menu of green features, including a wellinsulated
shell, energy efficient windows, Energy Star appliances, no-VOC
paints and low- to no-formaldehyde cabinetry. But most important to
Russell is that customers get a home that suits the way they like to live.
“One of the compliments that we get from clients is that they know
they’re in a house that’s unique,” Russell said. “And for us, any time we
can build something that’s smaller and lessens the carbon footprint,
that’s a pretty rockin’ place to live.”
Robin Rigby Fisher Design/Dale Lang
/ Portland / A Net Zero ADU
You might call it an experiment. In 2016, a client approached
Portland-based Birdsmouth Construction about adding
a 665-square-foot apartment over their two-car garage
in Southeast Portland. The plan was to convert it into an
Accessory Dwelling Unit, but this wouldn’t be a run-of-the-mill
remodel. The homeowner hoped to certify the new digs as a
Passive House. Typically, “very small buildings don’t do well as
good candidates for certified Passive House,” said Birdsmouth
designer Ben Valentin. “But we said we’d give it a shot.”
While that initial goal did prove to be out of reach, when
the project wrapped in early 2018 the team had fashioned a
remarkably energy-efficient structure. Triple-pane windows and
continuous super-insulation make for supreme airtightness,
while a mini-split heat pump and heat recovery ventilator
ensure top-notch ventilation and interior comfort. With the
addition of a small solar array, the ADU is now certified Net
Zero and generating more energy on site than it needs over a
year. We call that a win.
74 1859 OREGON’S MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2018