The MOD 5 House, designed by Aaron Locke and Brandon Ro, was just published in the book by Pablo La Roche titled Carbon-Neutral Architectural Design (CRC Press, 2011). The project was a winning solution for the Pamo Valley project and followed the carbon-neutral architectural design process outlined by La Roche in his book. As 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.

For more information on the project, see the following links:

https://brandonro.com/2011/03/03/mod-5-house/

http://polycentric.csupomona.edu/2011/06/destroyed_wildfires_rebuilt_students/#.VMJXrEfF-So