With this approach, over fifty weeHouses have been built across the country since that first one, many in rural areas where the ability to create a sleek little dwelling may otherwise be limited by materials and local expertise. The homes can be easily sized up or down—from 336 square feet to over 4,000—and are adaptable to any region. One San Diego-based client enthused that her windows, produced by Andersen Windows and Doors, were unbelievably quiet, which Warner attributes to the triple-glazing developed for Minnesota winters.
Inherently eco-conscious with their small sizes and smart building techniques—“the greenest square foot is the one you don’t build,” Warner quips— the weeHouses have only become more sustainable through continued improvements over the past fifteen years. “A lot more people have picked up on issues of energy use and carbon use to make more sustainable products and systems. We’ve been able to incorporate these features into our design work.” Recent weeHouse projects have included solar power, green roofs, passive heating/cooling, and hydronic underfloor heating, among other options.
Alchemy’s newest project, the lightHouse, is the next iteration that’s an even more affordable prefab option and can be easily replicated in dense urban settings. The 450-square-foot dwelling is designed to be prefabricated in a modular factory, made out of R-40 structurally insulated panels (SIPs), or stick-built on site. The system also incorporates Andersen® windows as a central element to let both natural light and views of the landscape flow in. The intent of the lightHouse is to “democratize the process so that more people can benefit from it. We wanted to design the hell out of something small to get a really beautiful project,” he says. Though it’s not customizable like the weeHouse, its low energy use, trim size, and modular configuration lends it to diverse solutions, from extended family apartments to rental units to guest houses. And it’s replicable at scale; there are currently rooftop communities under development using the lightHouse, as well as a half-city block in St. Paul.
