Show Village 2012 Preview: 3 distinct model homes for today’s market

Now in its 13th year, Professional Builder’s Show Village is the premier show-home exhibit at the International Builders’ Show. This year, PB and our industry partners are teaming to design and build three distinct models aimed at very different buyers — a net-zero-energy cottage for resort and guest-house clients; an infill duplex for urban and dense-suburban buyers; and a Cape Cod-inspired house for traditional families.

Once again, we’re partnering with modular home manufacturers Nationwide Homes and Palm Harbor Homes and more than 20 building product manufacturers to build the three homes in the main parking lot at the Orange County Convention Center. All three homes will feature dozens of innovative building products in a demonstration-type setting. Show Village attendees will have a chance to tour the homes, touch and test the products, and talk with representatives from our sponsor manufacturers.

Learn more about each Show Village model in the following pages and online at www.HousingZone.com/ShowVillage. And don’t forget to tour these cutting-edge homes at the show.

1. Net Zero Eco Cottage

Available as part of Palm Harbor Homes’ Eco-Cottages series, the Net Zero Eco Cottage is geared for upscale, green-minded buyers in two distinct markets: the resort property owner and clients looking to build a guest house or in-law suite on their existing property. Resort applications are typically coastal and involve installing the home on stilts. The most common setting is a 55+ active-lifestyle environment. For guest-house/in-law suite applications, the plan can be adapted in numerous ways for accessibility for the physically challenged, or even custom configured as a second office, art studio, or home theater.

“More and more municipalities are allowing the use of dwellings like this in the backyard of existing infill neighborhoods without requiring rezoning or, in some cases, permits,” says Michael Wnek, senior VP with Palm Harbor Homes. Wnek says the floor plan, while just 399 square feet, is livable on a scale with dwellings several hundred square feet larger, thanks to its efficient space design and dozens of hidden storage elements throughout.

Show Village Model #1

• Model name: Net Zero Eco Cottage
• Modular manufacturer: Palm Harbor Homes
• Modular product line: Eco-Cottages
• Size: 399 sf
• Dimensions: 12 feet, 6 inches wide by 48 feet deep

Sponsors – See the latest building products installed and in action from these premier sponsors:

• Access Lighting: Lighting
• Carrara: Stucco System
• Kimberly LED Lighting: LED Lighting
• Kohler: Faucets, Sinks
• Litex/Ellington: Ceiling Fans
• LP Smartside: Siding and Trim
• Maze Nails: Nails
• Nissan: Trucks
• Panasonic: Ventilation Fans
• Sprint: Direct Connect
• Sterling: Tubs/Showers, Toilets
• ThermaTru Doors: Entrance Door