ZigerSnead has a 25 year history of making some of the Baltimore region’s finest architecture. That also means that many talented people have come through the office at one point or another. All in all we are fortunate to work with some of the most creative, intelligent and dedicated designers to be found anywhere.
It is [...]
Historic Renovation in Raleigh Hits LEED Platinum
Solarsiedlung by Rolf Disch
“Maximizing the use of solar energy and minimizing heat loss” - Rolf Disch
The Solarsiedlung or “solar village” is Europe’s most modern solar housing project. Solarsiedlung is the housing portion of a larger development which also includes an office/housing block called Sonnenschiff (solarship). The project’s goals are to follow both the German Passive House and Plus [...]
The Best Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs
Can the new breed of energy-saving fluorescents hold their own against incandescents? Popular Mechanics ran seven bulbs through their optical course to find out.
The compact fluorescent light bulb revolution nearly occurred back in the early 1990s. When CFLs first hit the market in force, consumers bought them in large numbers — but they hated them. [...]
Marmol Radziner Homes (Prefab)
Marmol Radziner Homes (MRH) are factory-built volumetric modular units. Mr. Radziner states that the homes:
are created with the environment in mind and are built to make LEED certification. Materials, methods and lifestyle is chosen in such a way as to have as little impact on the environment as possible. For long-term sustainability, the module structures [...]
FlatPak House (Prefab)
The FlatPak House is a factory-built house designed by Charlie Lazor. The house design is based on principles the designer acquired while doing work for his award winning modern furniture design company, Blu Dot. Furniture is of course increasingly being designed to minimize the cost of material, labor and transportation which are the major [...]
2010 Olympic Village Using Sewage-Heat Recovery
After looking at a number of alternatives, the city of Vancouver chose to follow the example set by the city of Oslo, Norway and will implement North America’s first sewer heat recovery system for the 2010 winter games. It is scheduled to be completed in 2009.
An enormous amount of thermal energy is lost when the [...]
Wal-Mart Uses LEDs in Food Refrigerators!
Wal-Mart is installing LED lighting combined with occupancy sensors in it’s refrigerated food cases as part of an effort to save money on both energy and maintenance. The trials have done so well that per the guidance of CEO Lee Scott and based on the companies “ambitious vision for the future operations of the company [...]
WattStopper
“(WattStopper / Legrand)… makes buildings and homes more efficient through lighting controls.”
WattStopper / Legrand is a company based in Santa Clara, California, that designs and markets lighting control systems for both commercial and residential applications. Their website cites their convictions about “the importance of providing energy efficient, convenient, and accessible controls for the work environment.”
The [...]
Sun Tracking Umbrella
Architen Landrell Associates Ltd. was presented with a unique design challenge when asked to “combat the glare from sunshine and heat which built up within the…” glass dome atrium in the Jardine Insurance building in Oval, London. The designers immediately recognized the benefit of solar shading for the space, but also realized the difficulty inherent [...]
LV Series - Rocio Romero (Prefab)
The LV Series home is designed and produced by Rocio Romero LLC. The design seeks to maximize livable space and minimize clutter. The homes are factory-built as a kit of parts by Branstrator Inc. that is delivered to site as a flat pack by trucks. Rocio Romero states that the homes employ the principles of [...]
Apricus Solar - Solar Hot Water
Apricus Solar is a Australian-Chinese joint venture company which designs, manufactures, and exports high quality thermal solar collectors, heat dissipation units, and related components. Their equipment was widely used by teams at the 2007 Solar Decathlon competition (9 houses used Apricus equipment) and they were one of the Top 10 Green Building Products of 2007.
The [...]
Glidehouse by Michelle Kaufman Designs (Prefab)
General Description: The Glide House is a factory-built modular home designed by Michelle Kaufman Designs. The house is an example of clean simple modern living with an emphasis on both the internal and exterior environment. The design is available in several different configurations which are all based on common dimensions to facilitate factory-construction, easy transportation, [...]
Heliotrop by Rolf Disch
The Heliotrop is a house and an office designed to be extremely responsive to the environment. The house’s distinguishing feature is that it is circular and rotates to track the movement of the sun. Even the name is derived from the Greek word meaning “turned towards the sun.” The house also meets the German Plusenergiehaus [...]
Bo Klok by IKEA (Prefab)
Bo Klok, which translates to “clever living”, is a factory-built modular house design by IKEA which is currently sold in Sweden, Great Britain, Finland, Denmark, and Norway. The house is desined to be extremely affordable to allow low-income families the ability live in a clean contemporary environment similar to the lifestyle marketed through IKEA furniture. [...]