Hybrid Mobile / Pole Barn

VRT has worked up several drawing sets which combine a double wide manufactured home with a post and beam barn garage with upper living room. The thinking is that while the mobile is ideal for the smaller rooms of a house - bedrooms, baths, kitchen, and dining room - the barn upper level works well as a large living room, around 40' x 25'. At the same time the bulk of the plumbing, electrical, and hvac is conveniently pre-installed in the mobile, significantly simplifying construction. And speaking of hvac, VRT is a big fan of new generation hvac technology such as from Mitsibishi - whose advanced features the great Matt Risinger breaks down for us here:

If I'm understanding correctly, the beauty of next gen hvac is that they are all electric - no gas needed - and one compressor can drive multiple heat exchange sub units including specialized recessed cassette ductless units, exposed wall hung units say in a garage / workspace, as well as heat exchangers in conventional forced air systems. In this way its possible to configure the system ( or a part of it even ) as a multi mini split - where say each bedroom can have its own cassette unit. In this way one bedroom can be frosty cold while others kept at more moderate temperatures depending on individual preference. In the case of our hybrid set up two or more cassettes can be conveniently installed in the large pole barn living room without the need to devise and install any cumbersome connecting duct work. As well plumbing in the pole barn can be kept to a minimum. Some for instance may want to put the laundry in the pole barn and an additional bath.

A company called 'The Barn Yard' offers a barn of more or less the same size and with much the same features as envisioned for the hybrid house. It is a post and beam, so called 'monitor' barn kit offered retail at $136,000 as of July 2022. The company has posted this amazing interactive 3D model viewable online. The centerpiece of the barn is widened in VRTs scheme while the walls of the side wings are subtracted and reconfigured into the peripheral fence. The mobile home is sized at around 30' x 60' with 4 beds, 2 full baths, kitchen and dining. To get an idea as to what this might cost and although not a precise comparison, there are double wides offered retail by Champion at a base price of around $170,000 as of July 2022. VRT is naturally curious as to the possibility of volume discounts on both the pole barn and mobile portions of the home.

In addition to the pole barn / mobile portion of the home, the backyard is fitted out in loose approximation to the 'peristyle' of the Roman domus in antiquity. VRT finds the peristyle to be a most charming and pleasant garden 'outdoor room' concept, providing the finishing touch of indoor outdoor living so sorely lacking in so much of residential architecture these days. Now the famous Getty residence peristyle may likely spring to mind. VRT has equipped its peristyle with a Spa and so the alert wag may be tempted to brand VRT's stripped down design as little Spa Getty. No matter. The Getty peristyle, while a faithful reincarnation of what is found in the most resplendent Roman Domus of old, does not really work so well as a place of backyard residential repose. Indeed the problem with so much of architecture is that it is intended to dazzle the beholder rather than delight the resident.