michelle kaufmann designs

Photo by J Jeffery Johnson

The mkSolaire™ Smart Home is getting ready to say good-bye to the factory in Indiana. Soon it will hit the road for Chicago and the Museum of Science and Industry where it will be set onto its foundation 90% complete. The folks at All American are currently applying all of the Smart Home’s interior and exterior finishes with the exception of the wood flooring, which must be installed after the home is set and the heating system operational. Everything else, however, from interior paint to exterior siding to bathroom tiles, is going up right now!

Pictured in the photo above is the home’s FSC Certified Brazilian Ipe siding. This beautiful exotic wood is known for its hardness as well as its resistance to wood boring insects and fungi. The strength and durability of Ipe means this siding will require very little maintenance and last for an incredibly long time. It’s FSC certification guarantees that it has been grown and harvested under environmentally and socially responsible conditions. With any home, there’s a danger that water can seep behind the siding and get trapped there, which can cause mildew, rot, and mold. However, as you can see in the photo above, on the exterior of the Smart Home there is a gap between the siding and the highly water resistive rain shield. This gap is designed to protect the home from the above mentioned risks by allowing water to easily escape.

Also being installed right now is the kitchen cabinetry (pictured below), all done in FSC certified oak veneer. Crestwood, the wonderful company providing the cabinets, has an impressive environmental commitment program that extends beyond the use of FSC certified woods. Just as we do in our own factory, Crestwood utilizes its wood waste to heat its manufacturing facility. They have implemented manufacturing processes that focus on reduction of waste and inefficiencies in manufacturing operations and have even installed a water reclaiming system for use in their stone/granite fabrication shop. They have also taken impressive steps toward being as energy efficient as possible. Needless to say, we are very happy to be working with such a eco-friendly company!

Photo by J Jeffery Johnson

In the photos below you can see that the walls of the bathrooms and showers are being covered with BlazeStone recycled glass tiles from Bedrock Industries. We love Bedrock because not only are their gorgeous tiles all handmade from 100% recycled glass (over the years they’ve recycled literally hundreds of tons of material that would otherwise have gone into landfills), but they also use 100% recyclable materials for product packaging and shipping. The floors of the showers (pictured on the right) are being laid with Terra Traffic recycled glass tiles from Terra Green Ceramics. These lovely tiles are SCS (Scientific Certification Systems) certified and qualify for LEED points.

Once all of these finishes are complete, the Smart Home will make its way to its future home at MSI where, beginning May 8th, you can see for yourself just how beautiful they really are!

Photos by J Jeffery Johnson

Photo by J Jeffery Johnson