Text description provided by the architects. Porch House, with a uniquely adaptable design and construction process, enables its inhabitants to be a partner with the environment, in a house shaped by the climate and place, where the landscape and rooms are a unified whole.
Like many of our firm's celebrated designs, the Porch House is born from the simplicity of vernacular architecture and leverages what Lake|Flato has learned over the years in terms of good design, quality, sustainability, and practicality.
The factory built rooms are arranged on the site to take advantage of views, breeze, solar orientation, and outdoor spaces. The custom designed site built "porch elements", such as breezeways, porches, overhangs, and carports are the "connecting tissue" which holds the rooms together while allowing the overall design to adapt to the unique characteristics of the site, the weather and the client's program.
Expected time from design approval to move in is 6-9 months. A Porch House uses considerably less energy than a typical house and can be designed for "net zero energy consumption" with the addition of photovoltaic panels. Current projections for hard building cost range around $150-225 per square foot.
