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The Henry Ford of Green Homes

Posted by Lisa Carey

Your home is your castle, and Michelle Kaufman, architect, designer and leader in the building of green and sustainable homes, wants ito make each of them better. Find out how she began, what her eco-principals are, and more about her design options for living and loving your home.

Michelle Kaufmann isn't just an architect. She's an architect with a mission. Kaufmann believes that both what we build and how we build it should improve the environment, not harm it. A native of Iowa, Kaufmann graduated from Iowa State University and received her Master's from Princeton before she set off to work for renowned architects Frank Gehry and Michael Graves who both shared a passion for making design accessible to wider audiences.

When Kaufmann moved to Northern California, she saw a great need for affordable, sustainable and well-designed homes, and she knew she could make a difference through her architecture.

So in 1992, she founded Michelle Kaufmann Designs. She's been committed to being green in all of her projects - from factory-built modular homes, custom designed home and holistic, green communities.

"As an architect, my focus is on incorporating long-lasting, low maintenance materials and the four R's: renewable, recyclable, reusable, and reducing waste. These are the same qualities we should all look for when bringing anything new into our green lives or when considering how to discard anything old," says Kaufmann.

In 2007, Sierra Club Magazine called Kaufmann "the Henry Ford of green homes." Her work has been showcased in several museum,s including the National Building Museum, the Vancouver Art Center and MOCA in Los Angeles. Michelle unveiled the first mkSolaire home as part of Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry exhibit "Smart Home: Green & Wired," which will run through January 4th, 2009.

Michelle Kaufmann Designs EcoPrinciples:

Kaufmann knows that green products and eco-friendly building options can be confusing. She uses five EcoPrinciples to guide each step of creating sustainable homes.
1. Smart design
2. Eco-friendly materials
3. Energy efficiency
4. Water conservation
5. Healthy environment

Kaufmann believes "going green is as much about personal wellbeing as it is about well being of the world in which we live. A healthy environment and lifestyle, including everything from good food to good friends, is essential to green living. Your life will not be sustainable if you cannot find a balance between the demands of your work, your concern for the planet and its people, and maintaining health, beauty and joy in your daily existence."

Kaufmann has designed a variety of prefabricated homes that incorporate these five EcoPrincicples into green homes, with unique features like rainwater catchers. The MKD homes are built at the mkConstructs factory just outside of Seattle, Washington. Currently, mkConstructs builds homes for California, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii.

Even though the homes are prefabricated, that doesn't mean that there aren't options. Michelle Kaufmann Designs currently has five floor plan designs that can include 1, 2, 3 or 4 bedrooms, 1, 2 or 3 floors and a variety of finishes.

What makes Prefab Green?

Michelle Kaufmann: MKHearth Modular construction reduces waste by up to 50% to 75%. How? Modular plants can use precision cutting, material reuse, and storage capacity. An on-site contractor typically does not have the use of precision cutting, storage or reuse of materials, so in most cases, all extra materials end up in a landfill. Kaufmann also says that mkConstructs' close proximity to suppliers and materials streamlines the process. This reduces the time, money and the carbon foot of building.

The Latest Michelle Kaufmann Design- mkHearth:
mkHearth is Michelle Kaufmann's latest preconfigured home design. mkHearth is a modular version of a modern farm style house. Inspired by the rural farmhouse, an mkHearth home revolves around the hearth, which is a dual-purpose fireplace and cabinetry unit that circulates through all three floors.

Cool Features of the mkHearth:

open, flowing spaces

window seats

screen-in sleeping porches

sliding wood doors on barn door tracks

flexible loft space for an office, library, bedroom or playroom

Other modular home designs by Michelle Kaufmann designs include the Glidehouse, mkLotus, mkSolaire, Sunset, Breezehouse and Sidebreeze.

Are Michelle Kaufmann Designs homes affordable?

A multifamily home such as a townhouse design is around $160/square foot. Preconfigured single family homes run around $250/square foot. A custom Michelle Kaufmann Designs home can be around $400/square foot.

Michelle Kaufmann is making a huge green impact with her affordable, sustainable living housing options.

However, Kaufmann reminds us we don't have to take on big projects to make a big difference. She says, "There is no such thing as small gestures when it comes to going green; every change you make in the way you live and interact with the environment can help make the world a better place."