Blue Sky Homes to Begin Next Building Project
Green elements include revolutionary light-gauge steel frame and rapid construction
Palm Springs, CA, January 31, 2011 --(PR.com)-- Blue Sky Homes LLC, the company pioneering a revolutionary prefabricated light-gauge steel framing system for use in residential homebuilding, announced today that construction would begin on its next project in mid-February in Southern California.
The unique Blue Sky system provides individuals with the quickest and easiest way to have their own turnkey, architect-designed custom home with an array of green features. It also offers any architect the ability to expand their design capabilities for their own client projects.
The new Blue Sky project is a 1,225-square-foot home being built in the high desert town of Yucca Valley near Joshua Tree National Park. The client is Gordon Graham, a Canadian who will use the home as a weekend retreat. The house was designed by o2 Architecture of Palm Springs, the innovative firm that has designed a number of other home configurations that are available through Blue Sky Homes. Lance O’Donnell, A.I.A., is the firm’s principal and Martin Brunner is the project architect.
Key to the design and construction of the home is the Blue Sky Frame™ (patent pending), which consists mostly of cold-formed, light-gauge galvanized steel elements that are shaped, cut and drilled to precise requirements in a factory and then shipped flat to the job site where they are rapidly bolted together in Erector Set fashion. No site welding is required. The resulting frame exceeds all engineering codes for structural integrity – including all seismic requirements – and contains no load-bearing walls (neither interior nor exterior walls) or bracing of any kind.
“The real breakthrough we’ve achieved with the Blue Sky Frame is bringing all the advantages of steel – strength, durability and the ability to create large open spans – to the residential market while using mostly light-gauge steel,” said David McAdam, one of the principals of Blue Sky Homes. “Our frame elements are far easier to work with, are assembled very rapidly, require no site welding and, pound for pound, cost less than structural steel elements. We believe that you will see an increasing adoption of light-gauge steel framing in residential construction in the years ahead, particularly given the impetus to build homes more quickly.”
Another key advantage of the Blue Sky Frame is the ease with which it can be used on steep, uneven or sensitive terrain – often with minimal or no site grading required. That’s because the system is configured in what is known as a point-loaded, bi-directional, moment-resisting frame.
Because the frame elements arrive at the site prefabricated the time required to build the house is vastly shorter than for traditional homes. Blue Sky Homes estimates that the new residence will be fully framed within three days, a weatherized shell will be enclosed within one week and the entire house will be fully complete in seven or eight weeks. Solterra Development of Palm Springs, California is the general contractor for the project. Michael Flannery is the firm’s principal.
With no wood in either the Blue Sky Frame or in the wall panels Blue Sky homes are highly fire resistant and all but impervious to rot, mold or termites. And they require very minimal maintenance.
From an environmental standpoint Blue Sky homes boast very high credentials. The steel used in the homes is manufactured with up to 70 percent recycled steel content. Unlike most traditional homes, construction waste is largely limited to a factory setting where it is efficiently recycled. And the very speed of site construction is itself a significant environmental advantage because of the reduced number of trips to the construction site required by workers. Furthermore, Blue Sky Homes offers a wide range of green options – including solar photovoltaic systems, advanced solar hydronic hot water systems, non-VOC paints, Energy Star appliances, and much more.
The Blue Sky Frame has been rigorously tested and has been in use in commercial applications for more than 20 years.
A number of other architects are now using the Blue Sky Frame to design their own projects. The Blue Sky Frame has attracted particular attention from architects and builders in places such as Hawaii and the Caribbean where its attributes of construction speed, durability and green credentials are particularly valued.
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The unique Blue Sky system provides individuals with the quickest and easiest way to have their own turnkey, architect-designed custom home with an array of green features. It also offers any architect the ability to expand their design capabilities for their own client projects.
The new Blue Sky project is a 1,225-square-foot home being built in the high desert town of Yucca Valley near Joshua Tree National Park. The client is Gordon Graham, a Canadian who will use the home as a weekend retreat. The house was designed by o2 Architecture of Palm Springs, the innovative firm that has designed a number of other home configurations that are available through Blue Sky Homes. Lance O’Donnell, A.I.A., is the firm’s principal and Martin Brunner is the project architect.
Key to the design and construction of the home is the Blue Sky Frame™ (patent pending), which consists mostly of cold-formed, light-gauge galvanized steel elements that are shaped, cut and drilled to precise requirements in a factory and then shipped flat to the job site where they are rapidly bolted together in Erector Set fashion. No site welding is required. The resulting frame exceeds all engineering codes for structural integrity – including all seismic requirements – and contains no load-bearing walls (neither interior nor exterior walls) or bracing of any kind.
“The real breakthrough we’ve achieved with the Blue Sky Frame is bringing all the advantages of steel – strength, durability and the ability to create large open spans – to the residential market while using mostly light-gauge steel,” said David McAdam, one of the principals of Blue Sky Homes. “Our frame elements are far easier to work with, are assembled very rapidly, require no site welding and, pound for pound, cost less than structural steel elements. We believe that you will see an increasing adoption of light-gauge steel framing in residential construction in the years ahead, particularly given the impetus to build homes more quickly.”
Another key advantage of the Blue Sky Frame is the ease with which it can be used on steep, uneven or sensitive terrain – often with minimal or no site grading required. That’s because the system is configured in what is known as a point-loaded, bi-directional, moment-resisting frame.
Because the frame elements arrive at the site prefabricated the time required to build the house is vastly shorter than for traditional homes. Blue Sky Homes estimates that the new residence will be fully framed within three days, a weatherized shell will be enclosed within one week and the entire house will be fully complete in seven or eight weeks. Solterra Development of Palm Springs, California is the general contractor for the project. Michael Flannery is the firm’s principal.
With no wood in either the Blue Sky Frame or in the wall panels Blue Sky homes are highly fire resistant and all but impervious to rot, mold or termites. And they require very minimal maintenance.
From an environmental standpoint Blue Sky homes boast very high credentials. The steel used in the homes is manufactured with up to 70 percent recycled steel content. Unlike most traditional homes, construction waste is largely limited to a factory setting where it is efficiently recycled. And the very speed of site construction is itself a significant environmental advantage because of the reduced number of trips to the construction site required by workers. Furthermore, Blue Sky Homes offers a wide range of green options – including solar photovoltaic systems, advanced solar hydronic hot water systems, non-VOC paints, Energy Star appliances, and much more.
The Blue Sky Frame has been rigorously tested and has been in use in commercial applications for more than 20 years.
A number of other architects are now using the Blue Sky Frame to design their own projects. The Blue Sky Frame has attracted particular attention from architects and builders in places such as Hawaii and the Caribbean where its attributes of construction speed, durability and green credentials are particularly valued.
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Daniel Vaillancourt
323-969-8900
Daniel Vaillancourt
323-969-8900
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