Marmol Radziner Prefab

We’ve already dorked out over 3-D design software, so we’ve might as well show more of our techie side by revealing our excitement for Apple’s new iPhone Software Development Kit (or “SDK” for the cool kids out there). This kit allows software developers to create public and propriety programs to run on iPhones. One of our architects predicts this is “going to change the world… well at least for the iPhoners out there, which will soon be all of us, or at least hopefully me.”

To be mesmerized by the possibilities, check out the Steve Jobs video of the product’s launch or browse the apps already out there.

After selling the solar-powered Ferris Wheel for $132K on ebay last Friday, Pacific Park (aka the Santa Monica Pier’s tiny amusement park) announced that starting today, Santa Monica residents can ride the wheel for free. On May 4, the last day before the wheel is shipped off to its luck bidder in Oklahoma, everyone can ride for free (AND, to sweeten the deal, Pacific Park will donate $1 per rider to the SPCA Los Angeles), according to KNBC.

The new Ferris wheel will still run on solar power and should be up by Memorial Day. It has 160,000 energy-efficient LED lights that might illuminate a Valentine’s heart, Fourth of July American flag or a Christmas wreath. Yikes–next thing you know it’ll become one of those eerie, glowing digital billboards taking over our city.

Looking for a guilt-free party tonight? Check out GLOW: Party for a Greener Future at V-Lounge in Santa Monica. Have fun and support Project Green Design, Architecture for Humanity L.A. in their effort to revamp low income housing developments in Los Angeles. Proceeds from the event will help supply local and affordable materials that save money and conserve resources. The head of our factory’s structural steel shop is on the board of AFH-LA, so say “Hi” to Mike P. if you see him.

2020 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica
Tonight, April 25 at 9pm

One of our architects pointed us to this nifty new webpage, Muxtape, that allows you to make and share mp3 “mixtapes” online. Muxtape is so simple–register, upload, arrange, share. No more old-school dubbing records and tapes, though there is still the same agony of choosing which songs to select, and in which order.

The site’s retro design matches its retro product. In its first few weeks, Muxtape already had over 50,000 mixes. A dying artform is revived…

Next month’s Christies auction of Richard Neutra’s Kaufmann House, with it’s $25 Million estimate, has been all the buzz in the press, from architecture critics to JCrew ads. KCRW and Dwell’s Francis Anderton interviewed Ron Radziner and several others in last week’s DnA show about what the Kaufmann House auction reveals about selling architecture as art.

With forecasts of increasingly ferocious fire seasons in our future, we wanted to talk about some of the materials and designs we use to mitigate the risk of building in fire-prone areas.

Our factory has started production on the Malibu House, aka California House 5, a home that will be installed in a High Fire Hazard Zone 4 area. The picture below shows the installation of DensGlass Gold Gypsum Sheathing, a fire resistant sheathing used in one hour fire assemblies. This material is an example of how we try to reduce the likelihood of embers igniting the structure. Similarly, we use metal siding, structural steel frames, and concrete floors as opposed to wood or other more flammable materials. Our structures do not include eaves, a design that minimizes the risk of embers entering the interior of the home.

What happens when you combine iron workers, bamboo flooring, LEED certification, and gentrification? Find out by celebrating Earth Day with “The Greening of Southie,” a new documentary about the trials and tribulations of building Boston’s first LEED Gold building. From the same guys who brought us the Michael Pollen-inspired King Corn, the film looks at the people and complexity behind building sustainably. Tune in or set your Tivo.

Sundance Channel, Tuesday, April 22 at 9:35pm

(images courtesy of Wicked Delicate Films)

People sure must like being cozy because we get a lot of inquiries about radiant flooring. Given the interest, we wanted to give a brief primer on the hot water (hydronic) systems that we use.

Hot water flows through tubes underneath the floor, which warms the floor. Then as you shuffle across the floor, the heat directly transfers to you through conduction. Where traditional forced-air systems directly warms the air, in radiant-heated buildings the ambient air temperature may be lower and still achieve the same comfort level.

We use different radiant assemblies depending on the finish floor surface. In some instances, we use Warmboard, a product that directly integrates the tubes and subfloor (see top pic), and in other spaces we use non-proprietary systems, embedding the tubing in concrete or in between sleepers under the subfloor (see bottom pic).

Radiant heating uses less energy to maintain comfortable living temperatures and is healthier for folks with allergies since it does not recycle germs, dust, pollen and mold spores, like can happen with forced-air systems.

Two bad things: dirty water and schlepping water. One solution: the Aqueduct bike.

Thanks to dezeen for pointing us to this innovative prototype bike, which is transports, filters, and stores water for the developing world. Since women must often carry water many miles to their home, and the water is often not potable, this solutions kills two birds with one stone. Designed by the geniuses at IDEO, the Aqueduct uses pedal power to sanitize water at the same time as it transports water.

How it works from IDEO: “As the rider pedals, a pump attached to the pedal crank draws water from a large tank, through a carbon filter, to a smaller clean tank. A clutch engages and disengages the drive belt from the pedal crank, enabling the rider to filter the water while traveling or while stationary. The clean tank is removable and closed for contamination-free home storage and use.”

Watch and learn:

The design was part of the “Innovate or Die” competition sponsored by Specialized bikes and Google.

If you’re sick of waiting for 1) new episodes of your favorite sitcom, 2) an end to climate change, and 3) your marriage proposal from Brad Pitt, then we suggest grabbing a seat in front of your computer and checking out episodes of the e² series online.

Mr. Pitt and the voice-of-god Morgan Freeman narrate this beautifully-shot series about “the economies of being environmentally conscious.”

With two seasons about design and one season about alternative energy sources, the series takes an upbeat and practical tone.

Closing the loop, the e² is sponsored by Autodesk, the company that produces the 3-D software we use to design our prefab homes.