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Hello Boston!

Dwell and Monogram are bringing the Monogram Modern Home to you.

We will be popping up at The Innovation and Design Building September 11th – 12th during the American Field Exhibition and Market.

On Friday September 11th, the home will host a series of Continuing Education Units (CEUs). Check out the details and sign up below!

On Saturday, September 12th, the doors will be open to the public. Plus! When you stop by, you will have the chance to enter to win a Monogram appliance. A full schedule of events is listed below.

See you there!

For more information, visit http://www.dwell.com/monogram/boston

The first five of 20 eco-friendly modular homes arrived on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation and are being set on their foundations this week. Founded by actor Brad Pitt, the Make It Right foundation and the Fort Peck Tribes are hoping to have the first five families moved into their new homes by Aug. 1. Plans are to have the entire housing project filled by Dec. 1.The homes, built in Washington state, are being laid down in a sustainable village project on the old Poplar airport site. They are built from state-of-the art recycled materials and are LEED Platinum standard, foundation officials said.

‍Read the full article here.

Method Homes is excited to announce the completion of a modern-prefab traveling show home we were commissioned to build for Monogram Appliances and Dwell Magazine. The home will be touring the country showcasing Monogram’s latest and greatest high performance home appliances, along with showing off modern design and prefab in general.

In addition to Monogram’s suite of appliances, other sponsors for the home include: Dwell Magazine, Western Windows, AL13 Aluminum Siding, Smith and Vallee Woodworks Cabinetry, Kahrs HardwoodFlooring, Henry Blueskin Building Wrap, Heath Ceramics Handmade Tile, Statements Tile and Stone, Kohler plumbing fixtures and bath accessories, AGS Stainless Railings, Zometek Decking, Panasonic, Ceasarstone countertops, Unico, and Lutron.

The tour kicks off this weekend at Rejuvenation in Portland, OR so don’t miss it! For tour dates and further event information click on this link: http://www.dwell.com/monogram

We are excited the Monogram show home will be traveling to Dwell on Design in Los Angeles at the end of next month (May) where we will have a crew of Method team members showing off the build and answering all-questions PREFAB. Method will also have a second show home there sponsored by the Make It Right! Foundation and Dwell that will be one of 19 homes sent to the Fort Peck Reservation in NE Montana. So we’ll have two homes at DOD 2015 for you to tour!

Next stop: LA!

Visit Dwell On Design.

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Method is very excited that we will have two homes on display at this year's Dwell on Design show. We will have the Make it Right Fort Peck Home and the Modern Monogram home. We'll also have a booth near the homes and bunch of team members  at the show. Come see us! Dwell on Design LA, May 29-31, at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Friends and Family receive $5 off tickets with promo code: FF15. Register by clicking here.

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Commonly referred to as ZNE, achieving Zero Net Energy is to have a building that produces the same amount of renewable energy onsite as it consumes. This is  measured in a 1-year term.  The following building and design strategies will provide insight into how your home can become ZNE.

The following can be applied to your home and will begin during the design phase of the process. Method is offering ZNE packages tailored specifically to projects utilizing some or all of these strategies depending on the climate, site and design..

Insulation

1. Adding insulation to the ceiling has the largest impact on the energy consumed in a home.
2. Avoiding thermal bridging through either double stud walls, rigid foam wrap or a combination is another important strategy.
3. Use surface mounted lights on the ceilings exposed to the outdoors. The nature of heat transfer reduces an otherwise well insulated R38 ceiling considerably with a small amount of can lights that do not allow for a proper amount of insulation above the light. An example of this is if you have a 1000 sq ft roof with R-38 and then have an attic door that is 10 sq ft that is not insulated so R-1 your resulting average roof R value is only 27.7.

Tight Construction

1. Blower door tests measure the amount of air that escapes a building at a standard 50 Pascals of pressure. In order to achieve a very tight envelope specially formulated tape is commonly used to seal the seams of the plywood during framing.
2. Another strategy is to use expanding foam sprayed in a thin layer in the wall cavity that is then blown full of fiberglass. The thin layer of foam seals the airflow and the fiberglass keeps this option at a reasonable price point, this is commonly referred to as ‘flash and fill’.

Fresh air

1. Recommended at a rate of .35 air changes per hour, meaning that all of the air in your house is replaced approximately every 3 hours. If you live in a cold or a hot climate this essentially means that you are heating or cooling the outdoors. To alleviate the lost energy we use a heat recovery ventilator, HRV or ERV depending on your climate. This mechanism has a heat exchanger that recovers the heat or cold from the exiting air and transfers it to the fresh incoming air.
2. In addition to having fresh air it is important to pay attention to the contents of the materials used, for this reason Method Homes uses plywood sheathing and only materials that have NAUF, no added urea formaldehyde as well as low and no VOC adhesives and paints.

Windows and Doors are an integral part of the thermal envelope and it is therefore important to incorporate high performance options.

1. Windows are measured with the inverse of the walls R value called U values, the lower the U value the higher the R value and the better insulated the door or window is.
2. It is recommended that windows and doors have a .20 U value or less.
3. Another strategy is to incorporate windows with varying solar heat gain coefficients, SHGC, depending on the orientation and the energy modeling.

Passive solar design

1. This strategy incorporates a number of the above mentioned techniques into a comprehensive whole. This can best be analyzed and fine-tuned with an energy modeling software such as Energy Plus.
2. This process will illuminate the most cost effective strategies and give overall estimated energy consumption. Some items that will be looked at include; building orientation, thermal mass, shading and solar access among other things.

High efficiency hot water heater.

1. As the cost of solar electricity through PV panels has come down it is now more cost effective to use a high efficiency air source heat pump hot water heater rather than have a solar hot water panel installed on your roof, though some people may want this option.
2. A heat recovery coil that surrounds the drain to the shower known as a GFX or Powerpipe recovers the heat from the drain and feeds back into the hot water tank.

High efficiency heating and cooling system.

1. A ductless mini split that for every watt consumed can produce 2.5-3 watts of heating or cooling, 250-300% efficient. Another efficient option is a heat pump for heating water for hydronic radiant heat; we utilize the Daikin Altherma system.

High efficiency appliances and lighting

1. From the refrigerator to the washer and dryer it is important to look for energy star ratings and the specific energy loads of each model.
2. Lighting is best handled by an integrated approach using well placed windows and LED lighting.

The final part to building a ZNE home is to install a photovoltaic solar (PV) array that can produce as much energy in a year that you will likely consume in a year. There are various methods to monitor the consumption and production of energy.

1. Ultimately the success of a building reaching ZNE will depend on the home owner and the thoughtful decisions that affect the overall energy consumption.

There are numerous certifications that help to quantify different aspects of building a high performing home, from LEED to the living Building Challenge.  We can work with you to achieve these certifications or we can simply incorporate various strategies as described above to build you a long lasting, healthy efficient home.

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In December of last year, Method Homes built a prefab home that was delivered to Sonoma, California. From the time we broke ground to the time the home was complete, the build from start to finish only took 4 months….and maybe a few days. Regardless, we couldn’t be more happy with the results.

This modern prefab home was designed by Chris Pardo Design: Elemental Architecture of Seattle and Palm Springs. The owners completed the landscaping – including an amazing swimming pool looking over the Southwest exposure. The views of the vines in the valley below are spectacular. We just recently hired Jaime Kowal to shoot the home. See finished photos in our portfolio section here.

Chris Pardo Design

‍Element Series

‍Sonoma Prefab

Method Homes delivered another prefab home to Alaska, but this time via barge to a remote water front site that is not accessible by car. The project was a custom design by Prentiss + Balance + Wickline Architects that consists of three modules.

Two of the modules make up one cabin and another single module makes up another living quarters – complete with a galley kitchen – making it self-sustaining.

The cabin is completely off-grid and is powered by an efficient generator with back-up batteries. The home also utilizes water catchment for all of its water needs, along with propane for cooking.

The Method team has been on site for the last 2 weeks making structural connections, framing the gabled roof, and finishing some of the interiors and siding.

We will be leaving the remaining few weeks of work in the capable hands of local craftsmen, and it should be wrapping up in the coming weeks.

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The Method team recently traveled to Palm Springs, California to participate in 2014's Modernism Week as part of the Prefab Showcase and Modern Living Expo with Paradigm, our prototype home for the Paradigm Series by Bogue Trondowski Architects.The 11-day festival highlights Mid-Century Modern architecture, design, and culture. Proceeds from the event  provide funding for preservation of historically significant Mid- Century works, in addition to providing scholarships for design and architecture students. Here are a few of the Week's highlights:The Paradigm Prototype arrived in Palm Springs nearly 100 percent complete – aside from the corten steel sun brow and decking.A closer look at the sun brow with a CNC-cut design prior to installing.The East elevation shows Paradigm's fold detail and on the Western Red Cedar siding.Paradigm's West elevation with corten steel accents.Team Method installing the brow on the front page of The Desert Sun.Ready for Modernism Week!The Prefab Showcase and Modern Living Expo were fully powered by local solar company Hot Purple Energy, who also hosted architectural bike rides, a music stage with live performances, and a solar powered video arcade.Also being powered by solar was the impressive selection of gourmet food trucks, including this Cousin's Maine Lobster truck that was featured on the hit television series Shark Tank. This wraps into the city's most recent cultural developments as food trucks have just become legal in Palm Springs.Method partnered with Design 849 to outfit Paradigm in New Century inspired furnishings from their 11,000 square foot Palm Springs design house, including pieces from their in-house line of California-made furniture, D849.Sofa in Paradigm by D849.Recognizable around Palm Springs during the events were the bright red double decker buses that conducted tours of iconic Mid-Century architecture.The Kauffman House by Richard Neutra.One of Palm Springs' 15 Swiss Miss A-frames designed by Charles Dubois.Another house in the Los Palmas neighborhood. The landscape architecture of the homes was equally impressive.Many of the Modernism Week events were held in the design district, including our partners Design 849. Here is a look at the entry to their outdoor furniture selection.Pantone chairs from Trina Turke's pop-up home store in the design district.Next door to the Prefab Showcase was the Vintage Travel Trailer Show. This featured mostly restored Airstreams from the 50s and 60s, in addition to a few outfitted Greyhounds. It was intriguing to see what economies of space can be created to keep these compact trailers comfortable.For those looking for a multi-day design event, Modernism Week offers the best of both up and coming modern architecture and decor in addition to a Vintage Show and Sale. It was great to be on the cutting-edge of sustainable prefab during this year's event with the Paradigm prototype, which was designed to meet both Net-Zero water and energy requirements. Click here for more on Paradigm's sustainable features and to watch the time-lapse video of Paradigm construction in our shop.

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