Situated on the Venice Canals of Los Angeles, California, Hover House 3 represents the third in Glen Irani Architects Hover House series. This series focuses on maximizing outdoor living on small lots by ‘hovering’ the building envelope above the grade level in order to create space for outdoor living environments. This series proposes that interior living space be reduced in favor of less resource-intensive outdoor living amenities. As material and labor costs increase in the coming decades, increasing outdoor functionality while decreasing indoor area in temperate climate zones is one solution to the rising cost and over-consumption of building resources.
Hover House 3 utilizes numerous sustainability-improved technologies. Embodied energy analysis on major systems resulted in the use of exterior man-made slate panels, exposed concrete walls and radiant hydroponic heating and many of the finishes. Natural ventilation is carefully devised with proper window placements and a wind tower that extend 9’ above the roof (the max allowed by code) in order to eliminate air conditioning. Roof-mounted photovoltaic panels offset 80% of power demands. With the exception of interior wall paint, all interior finishes are devised to last indefinitely so that future emissions from finish replacements are minimized or eliminated.
