Kieran Timberlake Architects create Loblolly house, a prefabricated house that proposes a more efficient method of assembly
Located on a barrier island off the coast of Maryland, Loblolly House seeks to fuse the natural elements of the site to architectural form. Timber foundations minimize the house’s footprint and provide savannah-like views of the trees and the bay, and the staggered boards of the east façade evoke the solids and voids of the forest.
This project proposes a new, more efficient method of building through the use of building information modeling (BIM) and integrated component assemblies. The thousands of parts that make up a house were collapsed into a small number of offsite fabricated cartridges and blocks and simply attached to an industrial aluminum frame on site in less than six weeks.
Floor and ceiling cartridges are pre-wired to distribute electric and mechanical systems throughout the house. Exterior wall cartridges containing structure, insulation, and windows and the exterior wood rain screen complete the house. The west facade is an adjustable, double-layer system with interior folding glass doors and exterior polycarbonate hangar doors that provide shading from the sun and storm protection. The façade can be completely opened for cooling, and closed to harness solar radiation for warmth.
The house was designed to be disassembled as simply as it is assembled. At any point during its life cycle, the house can be modified or taken apart without demolition, and the components reused, reclaimed or sorted into recycling streams.
