If you've lived here for more than a few years, you probably think that our stucco-and-frame house obsession is somehow welded into our very development DNA, stitched into our very collective psyche -- or at least, maybe, defensibly sensible from a cost-effectiveness point of view. Update: Not true! Check out this eco-awesome compound built from a shipping container -- just up the street, sorta!
To deflect some of the Mojave Desert sun, a steel Unistrut structure is bolted to the house to secure a skin of modular, perforated, metal panels. These panels blanket the south, west, and breezeway portions and they’re transparent. Which is to say, the skin balances views, natural ventilation, and a 50% reduction in heat and glare.
Yes please!