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The Küler House is a low footprint, urban house prototype.
LEED-H Compliance
The design principals of the Küler house are formed around the soon to be adopted LEED-H standard as proposed by the USGBC. The LEED-H standard provides consumers with a measurable and quantifiable rating system to ensure that their house meets best practices for a sustainable and ecologically friendly home. Depending on the configuration, the Küler house will meet any of the certification standards set by the LEED-H specification.
Net Zero Footprint
The Küler house can be configured to provide the owners with a Net zero or near zero level of performance with respect to energy and resource use. The decision to build a Net Zero home is founded on a pressing concern for the state of the environment and a desire to lessen the impact our housing has on the planet. A Net Zero home is a sound financial and practical choice considering long term occupancy costs and unreliable municipal infrastructure. A Net Zero home provides the owner with peace of mind and a clear embodiment of their proactive role in improving the environment. The design of the house can accommodate many of the emerging technologies available to consumers including; geo thermal heating and cooling, photovoltaic electrical generation, solar hot water, and storm water and greywater collection.
FlexibleThe Küler house is resolutely modern in its design and construction. The layout is adaptable to multiple configurations to allow for almost any urban lifestyle. The fundamental premise is that the house is placed in an urban context by either infilling existing residential property or replacing older inefficient but highly desirable urban locations. This allows for owners to reduce or even eliminate their commute, improve access to existing, well established community resources and optimize their use of municipal infrastructure. The Küler house is designed to take advantage of constrained inner city properties and can be configured as a single family residence on lots as narrow as 20’ or can be designed as semi-detached residences on lots as narrow as 40’. Additionally the layout allows for multifamily configurations of three or more dwellings in the traditional town house format on appropriately sized properties. The Küler house is designed with a open floorplan, the elimination of any interior structure enables owners to configure their home in any way they please and more importantly, allow them to adapt the layout to changing family needs. Some of the configurations;
- Two storey, three bedroom with below grade garage. (~1900 sq. ft. + 600 sq. ft basement)
- Two storey , three bedroom with surface parking. (1900 sq. ft. + 900 sq. ft basement)
- Two and half storey, four bedroom. (~2400 sq. ft + basement options noted above)
EfficientThe appearance of the Küler house embodies its mission by employing well established but often ignored materials. The design maximizes the recyclable content of its building materials. In lieu of wasteful wood frame construction, the Küler house uses efficient and inceasingly popular “structural insulated panels” (SIP’s) for the principal structure. Engineered steel joists, radiant concrete subfloors and insulated concrete forms are some examples of the innovations integrated into the construction of the house. Exterior and interior finishes are selected based on their recycled content, end of life use, durability, environmental effects and aesthetic merit. Building orientation and siteing determine the location of windows and doors, these are placed to optimize environmental gains and ensure a modicum of privacy in an otherwise vibrant urban neighborhood. The combined effect of the material decisions and the building form provide the Küler house with a unique and decidedly modern appearance.
