August 29, 2012

The House of the Immediate Future to open at Seattle Center

Rendering courtesy of The Miller Hull Partnership [enlarge]

Habitat for Humanity’s net zero house is being constructed at Seattle Center.

A net zero modular house built by Habitat for Humanity at Seattle Center will open to the public starting next month.

Tours are from noon to 3 p.m. Sept. 1 through Sept. 3. Beginning, Sept. 5, they will be offered Wednesdays through Sundays, from 1 to 4 p.m., through Oct. 21.

Called The House of the Immediate Future, the approximately 1,400 square-foot, two-story structure is being built as part The Next 50 celebration of the 1962 Seattle World's Fair.

The house was designed by The Miller Hull Partnership, which donated its time as did Evergreen Certified, Z-Home, Sellen, Method Homes, Northwest Mechanical, SvR Design Co. and Magnusson Klemencic Associates.

The house is being promoted by Northwest Energy Star Homes for its energy efficiency.

Prefabricated wet core modules that house the electrical, mechanical and plumbing components of the structure were constructed by Method Homes. Volunteers are assembling the panels that make up the rest of the house.

This construction method will make it easier to disassemble the house so it can be deconstructed when the Next Fifty celebration ends and the house is moved to Seattle Housing Authority's Rainier Vista community in the Rainier Valley and sold to a Habitat family.

Miller Hull said the house is unlike the gadget-packed, energy-gulping home featured at the '62 World's Fair. The design maximizes insulation and minimizes air infiltration so it's affordable to heat and cool — a must for Habitat homes.

The house is at Next 50 Plaza on the north side of the monorail station, between The Armory and Experience Music Project's upstairs back entrance.

Related Stories:

• Habitat and volunteer team design sustainable house for Seattle Center  04-20-2012