ARCKIT Model 50
Featuring Pedro Volpiani and Chirac Ndetan
“If it doesn’t make a huge difference, find something else to do.”
What is Snowdrop?
This past March, Pedro Volpiani, Chirac Ndetan and I launched our new Architectural Startup, Snowdrop. We are a multidisciplinary firm working to design modular homes with exceptional levels of insulation, providing cost effective, net-positive buildings using locally sourced and sustainable materials. These home will target the markets of disaster relief and community building in developing countries. As part of a 10 year initiative, Snowdrop, is broken up into several stages that will focus on providing holistically sustainable housing, enabling communities to thrive without external intervention.
Stage 1: Revive - Solving the problem of Shelter with the development of a generic, self-sufficient, cost effective, modular building typology.
Stage 2: Restore - Delivering a consistent and dependable flow of Energy, enabling the basis for productivity.
Stage 3: Replenish - Working to achieve Water security, by providing communities with clean and reliable sources.
Stage 4: Revitalize - Defying the often inadequate norms of conventional Healthcare with the idea of treating wellness.
Stage 5: Renew - Recycling Agricultural by-products ensuring that a meal is on the plate tomorrow for not only you, but your family.
We are currently in the prototyping stage and hope to begin construction on a 480sqft or 44.6sqm prototype by next March 2019. To learn more about our adventure and to follow our journey, check out our brand new site below!
Project Details
Over the next year we will be working with Arckit to begin an entirely new series of videos to document our ideas of holistically sustainable design prototypes, exploring various solutions in passive design.
Here, we present a prototype community housing model (896sqft or 80.64sqm) allowing up to three couples to live sustainably off the grid. Made with a modular panelized system with integrated utilities, the home can be snapped together on site, in under a day. Public and private sections are divided by an open, partially covered corridor, connecting the front and back yards. The private wing (384sqft or 34.56 sqm) contains three bedrooms (96sqft or 8.64sqm each), while the public section (512sqft or 46.08sqm), a large multi-purpose space, contains the kitchen, dining, living and bathroom. Under the partially covered corridor, is a garden shed.
The home is oriented closely along a North/South axis. The public side, which faces north is largely glazed, allowing an abundance of natural light to pour into the living areas while avoiding the glare of direct sunlight. A large sloping roof guides and collects rainwater towards a central location for storage. Embedded into the roof, photo-voltaic cells charge up battery walls contained in the home. The private side, facing south is more closed off with increased thermal mass, absorbing the heat from the sun and keeping the interior cool. A green roof and rooftop deck covers this section.
Video Documentation
Notes
Rick Fairhurst (RikySongSu) is a designer and cinematographer interested in developing and documenting low-impact architecture in developing countries, and addressing their needs for water, electricity and health to promote engaging and productive lifestyles.
Pedro Volpiani is a research engineer and designer dedicated to reducing poverty by advancing STEM education and making it easily and readily accessible in underprivileged communities.
Chirac Ndetan is a biomechanist, photographer and fitness advocate interested in preventing musculoskeletal disorders by promoting human powered technologies and sustainable lifestyles
As always, if you have any questions, suggestions or comments, I would love to hear from you in the comments section below or through email to rikysongsu@gmail.com. Feel free to send me pictures or videos of your own creations, I always enjoy seeing all your models.
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Happy Building!