MOD 5 House: A Symbiotic Living System Promoting Biophilia

Pamo Valley, San Diego, CA
960 gsf

DESCRIPTION: The MOD 5 House is a new prototype for the San Diego single-family residence. The design is user-friendly, sustainable, and modular. Aimed at integrating itself into the beautiful, verdant landscape of Pamo valley, MOD 5 uses several passive sustainable strategies to achieve thermal comfort and become a zero energy home. One of the key components of the house is the “Flexwall” consisting of moveable insulating panels, shading louvers, and floor to ceiling glass doors. Designed as a flexible configuration, the large sliding glass doors not only offer views to the valley but completely open the central core of the house to provide a natural breezeway. These large openings are strategically placed to optimize heating, cooling, and lighting needs. In terms of flexibility, the house offers built-in furniture walls comprising shelving, beds, and desks. All furniture elements tuck away into the walls to create a large, flexible, open floor plan. Paving the way of life for the inhabitants of the beautiful Pamo valley, the MOD 5 House is a symbiotic living system that promotes biophilia— the love of life and one’s surroundings that people deserve.

DESIGN TEAM: Aaron Locke, B.Arch; Brandon Ro, B.Arch

PROJECT CONTRIBUTIONS: co-design floorplan, modular construction techniques, and sustainable systems; digital models and simulations of passive strategies; physical mock-up and testing of evaporative roof cooling; digital and print presentation materials (poster, presentation, etc.)

RECOGNITIONS + AWARDS:

Winning Design, Pamo Valley Project, 2011
CPP Architecture Interim Exhibition, 2011
BESS- Sustainability Symposium Student Poster Exhibition, 2011

STUDIO INFO: Advisor: Pablo LaRoche – Cal Poly Pomona / City of San Diego, Winter 2011