E-Tech Homes
The E-Tech System Compared to ‘Case Study Homes’
The 1945 Case Study Program sponsored by John Entenza, publisher of Arts and Architecture Magazine revolutionized the aesthetics and function of American homes. Break-through designs were created by German Bauhaus designers in the 1920s but very little change from traditional styles had been accepted in the U.S. until the Case Study Program was conceived and executed by a group of world class architects.
However, in the Case Study Program, only one home was constructed of off-the-shelf existing factory-made parts. For the most part, the rest of the range of innovative homes were constructed using materials and methods which are still used to build conventional homes. A very expensive, custom designed home was created but with raw materials delivered to the home site and painfully cut to size and fabricated, as “stick-built” homes are still built today. As a result, the cost of unique homes was then (and still is) beyond the reach of most of the buying public.
The one exception to the site-built method of hand cutting lumber and nailing pieces together was a home conceived by Eero Saarinen and Charles Eames. The home is now known as the Eames House as Eames was a master of PR and typically took full credit for designs created in collaboration with other designers.
“As originally conceived by Eero Saarinen and Charles Eames, Case Study No. 8 was a structure made from off-the-shelf parts. During the war, America had figured out how to build fast," said Eames Demetrios, Charles' grandson. "The idea that my grandfather and Saarinen had was to put prefabricated pieces from industrial warehouse catalogs into a new, affordable configuration.”
Thus, in the Saarinen/ Eames house, a very industrial aesthetic was created by using “off the shelf” elements used to build factory warehouse structures (which still are built almost exactly that way today). However, since assembly of these pre-manufactured parts was conducted at the home site, the cost was much more predictable and the time taken to assemble was a fraction of that required by the other conventionally built Case Study homes. In addition, this home has stood the test of time much better than the other Case Study homes because metal material quality was superior to wood and home-site fabrication was simple and error free (as is the case when using E-Tech components).
The major failing of the Eames/Saarinen concept was that the aesthetic produced was far too “warehouse” to be accepted by the general public. (see the attached photos) The idea of using out-sourced, existing factory-made elements that were conceived for a different purpose resulted in a breakthrough in home construction methodology but failed to create a warm, home-like family environment. One of the major benefits of the E-Tech method is that the components may be used dozens of ways by a creative designer to produce a comfortable, inviting home with unique features and appearance.
The E-Tech concept clearly owes a great deal of credit to the Case Study Project and especially to the Saarinen/Eames house. However, even of greater inspiration was utilizing the method of constructing high rises commenced in the late 1800s. Since then, high rises have been constructed based on a space frame to which is attached an insulated curtain wall.
Recently, after proving the method on constructing a 45 story building, a Chinese firm announced the plan to build a 200+ story high rise made of components manufactured off-site and to be assembled on site. This is to be the tallest building in the world and will be completed within 90 days of starting construction. The method used is further validation of the E-Tech concept.
See Eames/Saarinen House Photos Below
The concept was to use “off the shelf” industrial components to assemble at the homesite without having to cut lumber to size and then hand fabricate (stick-build) the home as is presently done for most homes built today. As a result, practically zero waste was generated.
The aesthetic created is very Industrial in nature because of the limited range of components available at that time. However, it proved to be far more cost effective than any of the other Case Study Houses built and, for over 68 years, has proved to be almost totally maintenance free. E-Tech components can meet any aesthetic desired by architect or client and the home will be far less expensive to own when all- inclusive costs are considered.
The E-Tech engineered components method of construction combines the best of the above and eliminates many of the compromises such as:
The final result is a much higher quality living environment with total sustainability and maximum energy efficiency. As a family evolves, the home is easily adjusted to meet new needs and so the home’s value is maintained for a lifetime of satisfying ownership.
Psychological effect of Ceiling Height
Ceiling Height Can Affect How A Person Thinks, Feels and Acts University of Minnesota, Science Daily
For years contractors, real estate agents and event planners have said that whether building, buying or planning an event, a higher or vaulted ceiling is always better. Are they right?
Until now there has been no real evidence that ceiling height has any influence or advantage with consumers. But recent research by Joan Meyers-Levy, a professor of marketing at the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management, suggests that the way people think and act is affected by ceiling height.
Meyers-Levy and co-author Rui (Juliet) Zhu, assistant professor of marketing at the Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia and a Carlson doctoral alum, found that, depending on the situation, ceiling height will benefit or impair consumer responses. The paper “The Influence of Ceiling Height: The Effect of Priming on the Type of Processing People Use,” will be published in the August issue of the Journal of Consumer Research. “When a person is in a space with a 10-foot ceiling, they will tend to think more freely, more abstractly,” said Meyers-Levy. “They might process more abstract connections between objects in a room, whereas a person in a room with an 8- foot ceiling will be more likely to focus on specifics.”
The research demonstrates that variations in ceiling height can evoke concepts that, in turn, affect how consumers process information. The authors theorized that when reasonably salient, a higher versus a lower ceiling can stimulate the concepts of freedom versus confinement, respectively. This causes people to engage in either more free-form, abstract thinking or more detail-specific thought. Thus, depending on what the task at hand requires, the consequences of the ceiling could be positive or negative. “Depending on the activity or the desired outcome, ceiling height can make a big difference in how the consumer processes the information presented,” says Meyers-Levy.
This work has important implications for retailers of all types who are faced with consumers whose thought processes might influence what products they buy, how they process point-of-purchase information and even sales persuasion strategies. Careful attention to this important design aspect of retail spaces can pay off for those with one eye on the ceiling and the other on the bottom line.
The next time you are in a leading retail store or house of worship, note the ceiling height!
Environmentally Healthy Homes
Objective
E-Tech Systems provides an integrated system of Engineered Components (international patents pending) that can be utilized by designers to create homes that provide benefits not available by using traditional construction methods and materials.
Energy Efficiency
An E-Tech structure is totally thermally enclosed. Roof and floors units have integrated insulation and walls and windows are thermally broken. Thus very little energy is required to heat or cool. Almost all mechanical systems can be down-sized in a thermally enclosed structure. Energy costs are ever increasing so minimizing their need is going to be forever more and more important.
Energy Production
State-of-the-art renewable energy devices are sized appropriately so that capital invested is paid back in the shortest possible time. Almost all energy generating systems and devices can be downsized in a structure that is totally insulated.
Factory Production of Engineered Components
Almost all complicated consumer products are now assembled in plants where outsourced components are brought together and packaged for shipment. This takes maximum advantage of mass production and specialization so that highly automated equipment can be afforded, costs minimized and quality control is exact. With E-Tech, all Engineered Components are produced at carefully selected factories which specialize in a given technology. When a more technologically advanced component is invented, computer driven machines make it easy to replace the module then being used. This combination of design flexibility and totally predictable costs cannot be duplicated when production is handled “in house”.
Health
A toxin-free environment with self-ventilation and filtered incoming fresh are vital for a healthy environment. Electro-Magnetic Pollution is now a major health issue and the E-SIP metal faced panel will very likely provide a shield from externally generated sources. A great deal of qualitative research is underway and we will respond accordingly.
Not only are we concerned with physical health, psychologically stimulating spaces can make a huge difference in one’s life. With E-Tech, one can produce soaring, spiritually uplifting spaces which can also have a direct effect on one’s physical well-being.
Sustainability
Traditional methods of construction generate dumpster after dumpster of construction waste and nailed together wood structures are almost impossible to economically repurpose. Thus, when change is needed, load after load of potentially good building material is sent to the landfill.
All E-Tech Engineered Components are totally sustainable. They are manufactured in highly efficient specialized factories where any production waste is recycled and each component arrives at the site ready for installation with practically zero waste generated. Of MAJOR significance, later on all components can be easily disassembled, reconfigured and/or repurposed into other structures if, and when, change is appropriate.
Homesite Installation
Engineered Components arrive at the homesite by flatbed truck or in 40 foot shipping containers and no expensive cranes are needed to handle the components. Final assembly is made on the site by easily trained labor and since all components are pre-sized, construction mistakes and waste are eliminated and quality and construction time are tightly controlled. Instead of construction time taking months, only a few days are required for a weather-proof structure. Thus, all costs (labor, financing, and materials) are minimized and so superior quality is achieved at very competitive overall costs.
Therefore, a most healthy environment is produced with interior flexibility to change as a growing family’s needs evolve. If ever sold, this makes for a home which holds its value and is attractive to a much wider range of buyers than other homes which were conventionally constructed.