Community Corner
Video: Luxurious Pacifica Living in a Small Footprint
A recent addition to the hills above Sharp Park, architect Rocio Romero has designed a home that offers all the luxuries of a modern home while maintaining a lower environmental impact.
Green homes take many forms, with options like passive solar design, straw bale homes, energy retrofitted homes, prefabricated homes, or the small homes pushing the boundaries of efficient living.
You don’t have to go far to see an example of one such home, for nestled in the hills overlooking Sharp Park is a modern hybrid of sorts; Steve Rapport’s .
Rapport’s home is prefabricated, and with a total square footage of less than 1,500 sq. ft., rivals the efficiencies of the small home movement. The LV home is the inspiration of architectural designer and home manufacturer, Rocio Romero, who built the first of these in Laguna Verde, Chile of which her home series is named.
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Yet the small footprint of the home alone is not what makes the building green. Romero designed the LV to be 24 ft. by 48 ft. and is built with less materials with greater efficiency than custom built homes. While saving resources by not wasting as many materials in the manufacturing process, the benefit of this efficiency comes through in the design with pleasing proportions that are evident at first glance.
The walls of the LV home are 12 inches thick, twice as thick as an average home. Romero wanted the home to be well insulated, and with twice the insulation capacity, she’s achieved a home with excellent energy efficiency. In addition to insulation, Romero takes advantages of as much natural light as possible in the homes small space, limiting the amount of energy needed within. Large windows around the home; “bring the outdoors in” states Romero.
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Since the LV home is highly customizable, Rapport was able to add his own personal touch, as well. One such green feature he opted for was hydronic heating which heats the home through hot water pipes embedded in the floors. Hydronic heating offers exceptionally comfortable heat that is healthier for the occupants than traditional forced air heating. The system supplies both hot water for heating the space and the water supply, eliminating the need for a hot water heater.
Rapport’s home, designed by Romero, proves that living in the lap of luxury does not have to come at the expense of the environment.
