Builder Spotlight
Builder Spotlight: Modulus Design
Interesting structure above–I like the second-floor balcony over the back yard. Modulus-designed homes and businesses are cropping up around the city, from the Artichoke Cafe in the Huning Highlands area, to the Turner + Htun house above.
Describing the Turner + Htun home, shown at left and on the first page, a Journal article described Modulus Design’s “Detailed layering, stacking and the use of different masses give this home a modern look as cedar-cloaked and cubelike living spaces jut out from the stuccoed exterior walls.”
Modulus Design doubled the size of the ABQ Country Club home, from 1800sqft to 3600sqft, without changing the footprint, by adding a second floor, while adding protected courtyard spaces, and second floor balconies.
Their green-inspired business model is: Re-Think, Re-Use, Re-Model.
From the Modulusdesign.com website: “We donate, reuse, re-purpose and recycle as much material from our projects as possible. Modulus Design utilizes US Green Build Council methodologies and green materials in the design process and during construction.” Look around, and you will begin to notice other Modulus-designed homes dotting the Metro.
Modulus Design: Before and After
I visited this home on Altura Park, below, when it was for sale a few years ago. It remained untouched from the 1950s: single-pane windows, hollow block construction, small enclosed spaces with an uncomfortable floorplan. The last two items made the home undesirable to my clients; hollow block framing has almost no “R- value” (insulation value) and the low ceilings and minimal public space (a long dark hallway leads to the bedrooms) made the home feel very small.
We could feel a lot of air coming from the single panes of window glass throughout the house. A lot of folks would not know where to start a remodel. Along came Modulus Design, below is the finished home, along with the room to the right.
Modulus insulated the entire home, creating a very tight “building envelope.” They raised the ceiling, added tons of natural light with clerestory windows, opened up rooms by removing walls around the kitchen and living areas, and of course added more livable space to the Master Bedroom and secondary bedrooms. They used a lot of steel, glass and wood to create a modern feel to the residence, fabricating it all in their Downtown studio.