04/02/10 – Los Angeles – Small Single Family <2500 sqft

Comment: I found Mozaic in Google Street View: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Santa+Ana+St+and+Wilmington,+Los+Angeles,+California+90280&sll=33.965502,-118.211303&sspn=0.015839,0.037723&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=S+Wilmington+Ave+%26+Santa+Ana+Blvd,+Los+Angeles,+California&ll=33.935892,-118.233619&spn=0,359.990569&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=33.935934,-118.233704&panoid=vOgk9yG6Hngh5AcJ9LYwxQ&cbp=12,228.9,,0,5

It actually is IN Santa Ana Blvd. Very interesting to compare it with the slightly older homes just north in the boulevard. They look to be poorly built and falling apart now.

The Vista Dunes project was intriguing. It would be interesting to see what happens to it over the next 10-15 years. I was a little put off by the condescending attitude of the video on their site where they told me what to clean my floors with and what to set my thermostat to.

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Comment: Upon review of the 3 plans I see 2 issues: (1) use of SlowHome criteria within the actual floorplan, and (2) use of SlowHome philosophy with regards to environmental impact of the home. This makes judging the homes more of a challenge. You can implement environmental/renewable features (which these homesites do–some EXTREMELY well); however, these “green” qualities are lost if the house is not “livable” i.e, thoughtful room by room planning with good flow and functional use of space.

With that in mind I found 12@Eden small for a single family home–3 people at most (any more and things get tight). Living room space is not well planned; small outdoor dining area dependent on weather conditions; must go outside from garage to enter house; limited bed placement in bedrooms with the circulation from hall door to MB closet awful if bed is placed on the only solid wall available; questionable countinuous counters in baths (tight); kitchen triangle is awkward with frig far removed (almost in living area); washer/dryer inhibits the circulation path to outdoor patio. HOWEVER, good points do exist. Nice use of windows on South and East which means light without alot of heat; good walkability score; good neighbor-friendly design; modest price range and renovation of existing property to lessen environmental impact. Overall, I did not like the floor plan nearly as much as the attempt to use “green” technology in constructing the site.

The Mosaic, Plan 1 floor plan is admittedly bigger and maybe I’m partial to this because it made the home more “livable.” My concerns for this property: it looks like the homes are on top of each other with window views not the greatest; walkability on the low side; kitchen somewhat tight and lacks adequate counter space; nook too big with space that could be utilized better in the kitchen area; bed placement limited in all rooms, ESPECIALLY in master suite; Master bedroom “wardrobe” not necessary; garage at front of house (not very inviting). Good points include: nice use of windows throughout entire house; no wasted space (even at the landing on second floor); nice half-bath on 1st floor; nice laundry location; good designation of study OR 4th bedroom; modest pricing; good effort to reduce environmental impact on land. Overall, larger floor plan made this house seem more family-friendly and livable.

Vista Dunes(3 bed, 2 bath) has a tight floor plan. If you really look at the room dimensions you start to understand why this might not be a long-term living arrangement. The rooms are packed tightly into the 1159 sq. ft. space. The homeowner must be VERY thoughtful with furniture layout and size. The bedrooms (excluding Master) will not have much space to move in with anything larger than a twin bed. The bathrooms are questionable for ample storage and continuous counters. Dining and Living are squished together–barely adequate space with the dining table looking into the kitchen. The kitchen is not going to receive much natural light and the washer/dryer is in a terrible location at the back of the kitchen impeding circulation at the back door! With a detached garage you are at the mercy of the weather. ALSO, you increase the amount of dirt and allergens/chemical residue tracked into the house from outside. Good points include: handicapped access in kitchen (but what about the bathrooms? Hmmm); no wasted space; thoughtful use of plants and house design to maximize sun protection; good effort to create nice neighborhood feel through sidewalks and common areas. Overall, the house is very tight but provides the necessities for everyday living. The absolute BEST part of this project is the environmentally-friendly construction both inside and outside the house. This is the poster child for how to make “green” work: low-flow toilets and water-efficient shower heads, tankless water heaters, energy-start washer/dryer, energy-efficient flourescent lights, timers for bath fans, the awesome chimney in the center of the house (WOW–I have goose bumps!!!), concrete building material for thermal efficiency. I even saw solar panels on some buildings on the website. Fantastic!!! These are the things that homeowners need to be working toward with respect to their own houses, especially if you consider the square footage in larger homes.

Finally, after reviewing the 3 nominees I feel The Mosaic fulfills the qualifications best using the criteria from the SlowHome Test. BUT for the record it does not appear to be the best candidate for Low Environmental Impact (which is not technically a criteria on the test). The Mosaic homeowner would be responsible for installing energy-efficient appliances, lights, etc. if the developer did not specify them in the house plans.

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Comment: I have to admit that these are disappointing finalists.

Too small, bedroom wise I expect at least three, and the affordable/green vein is great but is not a measure of our test.

I scored Mozaic and found it lacking. One of the projects is larger reno project… none of these reach the average single family american home.

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Comment: Cat – Thanks for posting the link to the Google street scape for the Mosaic project – it really adds a lot to have this information available. Mosaic really adds a new dimension to the bungalow dominated neighborhood. I am very interested to see how they deal with the street edge – the construction photos show the project open to the street, but this will not be the finished design. Also, the bungalows on the other side of the street are really fenced in and seem to turn their backs to the street so I am curious how Mosiac treats the street front.

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Comment: Molly K

Wow – you have really put a lot of thought into your analysis – your points about the challenge of balancing the points on the Slow Home Test (which looks at livability) vs. the overall Slow Home philosophy (which includes environmental responsibility) is an interesting one to consider. I agree with you 100% that even if a house has the lowest environmental footprint but is badly designed – it is not a Slow Home. Slow Homes have to have a high level of livability and a low environmental footprint. We have gone back and forth with the Slow Home Test to try to figure out if we should include a specific question as it relates to environmental features. I welcome more discussion from our viewers on this topic as we continue to refine our processes. I will be having a good think about this today!

In the meantime – your careful and well considered analysis is exactly the type of discussion we were hoping to generate – thank you and keep up the good work.

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Comment: I have argued against the inclusion of environmental factors in the Slow Home test on the grounds that it did not have meaning in the context of what a good floor plan should look like. Also, the green cause can get somewhat religious and, at times, misguided. But clearly, in the context of new development, substantial HVAC retrofits and material selection, green technologies are becoming more affordable and can be difference makers with application in all markets and should be part of the Slow Home test.

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Comment: Also contributing to the lower cost- lack of square footage and we have the basic Rectangle. Cheaper pour and no roof issues.

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Comment: As for the layouts.

If it isn’t broke don’t fix it? Funny but the Vista Dunes floorplan reminds me of the cookie cutter post WWII housing in the burbs I grew up around…. but the eating is now in the great room. This did get my vote.

I really dislike the ELDEN. That living room just does not work. It looks to be a good size of 12 by 17 but when you have to accommodate the front entry in the circulation and the fireplace taking up precious space in way of limiting function… I see this really as 14 by 9. That is just too small.

John you like orientation of rooms to the back – here we see light from all over the place. Mozaic problems I see are the dining room (entry doors), the nook takes away from the space needed in the living, the hall upstairs runs forever. If we oriented this house toward the wall off the kitchen I wonder if it would work better.

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Comment: As a pleasant distraction consider the following small home. It is the iconic Taggart House built in 1922. It is 2300 square feet in size, offers city views and original details. It is for sale at 2.5M USD. I’ll let you guess the architect.

http://www.sawbuck.com/property/Los_Angeles_Metro/Los_Angeles/Hollywood_Hills/2479022-5423-Black-Oak-Drive

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Comment: Brad W – Interesting find! The price drop is quite the mark down!

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Comment: If you have $2.4 mil you can get a new infill home in West Hollywood. Nice design, not too ostentatious, probably slow, but there’s no floorplan available to back me up–you’d have to look at the photos. It’s found at http://www.thesunsetteam.com/ You choose the featured listings and second or third down is Westbourne Drive.

BradW, which websites in particular offer the bird’s-eye view of TV homes?

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Comment: Terri – you did get that the Taggart House was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright? And is a historical landmark in LA?

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