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This house has been designed according to the following premises:
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This house is designed around a physical
footprint of 774 sq. ft. (71.9 sq. mt.), as a way of
proposing more efficient compact single-family housing for an
environment like Puerto Rico, which is a small island that can
no longer support the inefficient typical suburban model home
common to continental areas. Yet, in spite of its reduced
physical footprint, the total area of the house is 2,122 sq. ft.
(197.1 sq. mt.) of living area.
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The effective square footage of the house can be
enlarged through the use of some integrated canvas retractable
roofs that can be prolonged to cover the adjoining terrace.
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Most significantly, the ecological footprint of
the house is considerably reduced. This four-bedroom dwelling is
completely energy and water efficient through the use of
photovoltaic panels, a grey water system and a rainwater cistern
(collected by the roof and terraces surfaces). Use of an
‘intelligent house system’ will smartly manage all these
components.
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The plan of the house is open on the east and
west sides to assure an effective cross ventilation (through
perforated aluminum and movable glass windows). All the services
are located on the southern elevation to ensure thermal
absorption through the greater thermal mass of the service
module.
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The house section was designed to take advantage
of direct and indirect natural lighting by opening the upper
level of the residence to the south.
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A triple height space in the central area of the
house will allow hot air currents to circulate out of the main
spaces through the top of the house.
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The basic construction uses pre-fabricated steel
structure and iron reinforced polyurethane panels with an
exterior concrete finish. Such panels are light, economical, and
provide exceptional thermal and sound insulation. The
photovoltaic/solar and water heater panels on the rooftop as
well as the composite wood jalousie-like cladding on the south
façade will provide additional thermal insulation.
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