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Change the World!















Starting with your neighborhood!

Architect Jeff Sommers will be a guest speaker for my "Materialism and Idealism" class on November 22, discussing his dream for a reformation in urban residential design. 

Here is a link to an article in Green Bean Chicago about Jeff's current project: a prefabricated, urban home meeting the criteria for LEED Platinum certification.  Meaning: really green and quite cool.  The Urban-C3 is built under climate and quality-controlled conditions in a factory near South Bend, IN, then trucked to the site and assembled in a day.

Forget everything you think you know about prefabricated construction.  It ain't just for double-wides any more!

Other links:
As I've noted before, I've served as a strategic advisor to Jeff's firm as the project moved from dream to drawing board to construction.  It's great to see the modules arriving on-site and being lifted into place over the adjoining 4-story residences.

Watch as a C3 module gets lifted over the trees and readied for installation:



Come join my class if you happen to be in southwest Michigan on the afternoon of the 22nd.  E-mail me for more details.

Or, in this message received yesterday, Jeff invites you to take a project tour:
"Our C3 Prefab project has finally arrived in Chicago! Yesterday, we were fortunate enough to enjoy spectacular November weather and took full advantage of the day by craning all 5 of our prefab modules into place in about 8 hours. Needless to say, we are ecstatic with finally seeing this project finally come to life and anxious to spread the word to all of you who have an interest in prefab construction and sustainability.


It will take roughly 3-4 weeks of time for our contractors to complete the remaining work onsite to finish the project and have it ready for our clients to move in. In the meantime, I am offering to set up informal tours of the project for anyone interested in seeing the project first hand. This will be a great opportunity for any of you interested in pursuing a prefab modular and/or sustainable/green project  to take a tour, and ask any questions that you may have.


I am tentatively planning on conducting tours the week of November 29-Dec 3, so if you are interested please let me know what days/times work for you and I'll do my best to accommodate and schedule times accordingly.


Please feel free to forward this email on to anyone you know who may be interested in attending on of our tours.


Thank you very much."
I'll see you there!
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