An airy, 640-square-foot prototype house called the ‘BrightBuilt Barn’ proves that small can be open and livable. The LEED-Platinum eco-friendly home in Rockport, Maine, made with locally milled Eastern White Pine, won the EcoHome 2010 Grand Award for its net-zero energy performance, commitment to sustainable materials and smart design. The home, by Kaplan Thompson Architects, has a flexible open plan with spaces separated by sliding translucent panels.
Designed for use as a studio by the client, but adaptable to be a one- or two-bedroom home, BrightBuilt Barn was created by a team of Maine’s top green engineers and professionals. Five driving principles drove its design: livability, sustainability, replicability/affordability, disentanglement/flexibility, and education.
The home was pre-fabricated, and can be placed virtually anywhere a client desires. It features a super-insulated shell, a photovoltaic array for power, high-efficiency lighting fixtures, water-efficient plumbing fixtures and a real-time energy monitoring system with an LED light skirt on the exterior perimeter that glows green when the house is producing its own energy, and red when it’s using grid power.
The bright and refreshing interior gets much of its good looks from the use of Eastern White Pine in a subtle palette of light stains. Get more information about this design from Kaplan Thompson Architects.
