PAF Architecture, LLC

PAF Architecture, LLC


Loq-kit is PAF Architecture's international-design-award-winning concept for the future of affordable and sustainable housing for all.

Loq-kit is a system of mass-produced interchangeable house parts. Loq-kit introduces a new technology for regulating part size with a unique network of gaskets. The gasket network standardizes part sizes through the modular coordination of the parts' own connection (to other parts) size and location.



Shelter with Service - A Green Revolution

PAF Architecture was established in 2003 with lofty ambitions. The launching of the firm centered on the development of an innovative affordable housing technology – one capable of undercutting the costs of conventional wood-based construction systems. This new housing technology is named Loq-kit.

Loq-kit is a system of mass-produced interchangeable house parts. It is our action to up the ante by architects and help lead the way toward developing a market-viable solution for the lack of sustainable and affordable housing for all.

The project garnered international attention in 2005 with a second place finish in the highly-publicized C2C Home international sustainable design competition. The competition received more than 625 design submissions, with thousands of participants from 41 countries worldwide.

The Loq-kit 6-way snap-lock wall, door, window, and valance panel connections significantly ease a home’s assembly, while enabling disassemby. Imagine snapping a window into a wall similarly to pressing a hubcap onto a car wheel! Or releasing and relocating a wall or door. The innovative house parts have been studied at the university level in the US, Canada, and England. The project has received a surprising amount of attention on the internet and has been featured in the book Prefab Agenda and Ecological Architecture Cases. The house parts are currently pending patent.

Loq-kit introduces the concept of Shelter with Service as a practical method for house maintenance and modification over the building's lifecycle. With interchangeable and reusable house parts, homes may be easily modified with readily available used parts. The parts may be used over and over, and at reduced cost – while ensuring that components are not placed in a landfill – demonstrating an economically sustainable system of reuse.

In 2009, PAF Architecture submitted a proposal to the US EPA for SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) funding in order to develop prototypes of the extruded-plastic wall panel connections. The proposal was not  awarded funding - however, project development is a multi-year ongoing effort and we remain optimistic!



Loq-kit News


2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

  • Loq-kit featured in book Prefab Agenda, Sustainable Dwelling Design for the 21st Century. Robert Mendel
  • Loq-kit featured by Coming Unmoored.com – Loq-kit Indicates That Some Big Changes are on the Horizon – May 20
  • PAF Architecture submits SBIR Proposal to US EPA for Green Building Materials and Systems research funding – Title: Targeting Zero Waste with Lifecycle Service: An affordable Way to Build (and Rebuild) Houses. – May 15
  • Patrick Freet interviewed by student at the Plymouth College of Art and Design in Devon, England for magazine focused on eco design and architecture. – April 7
  • Two University of Minnesota architecture students give extensive presentation of Loq-kit concepts and design solutions to their Architecture and Ecology class. – Spring Semester.

2008

2007

2006

  • Exhibitor, 2006 Homes for All! Convention, St. Paul, Minnesota – December 6.
  • Loq-kit concept studied as precedent of emerging house assembly technology by the World House Project studio at George Brown College's Institute without Boundaries. Toronto, Canada. – Spring Semester

2005

  • Loq•kit 6-way connector featured in Illinois Institute of Technology paper “House of the Future” in December.
  • Article Snap-on Homes, Midwest Home Magazine, June/July 2005.
  • First annual Minnesota Cup Semi-Finalist – June 30. The Minnesota Cup is a state-wide business plan competition seeking creative “breakthrough ideas” capable of adding to the ongoing vitality of the state’s economy.
  • Shown at the Art Museum of West Virginia C2C Home Exhibition, January–March.
  • Awarded second place in the highly publicized Cradle to Cradle Home international sustainable design competition in January. The competition received more than 625 design submissions, with thousands of participants from 41 countries worldwide.









To learn more about Loq-kit and to see detailed drawings of the house components, please click on the following links:


  • Loq-kit Web site – Detailed description of Loq-kit

 

  • Loq-kit Patent Application – Link to US Patent and Trademark Office published application

 

  • PAF Architecture US EPA SBIR Proposal – Title: Targeting Zero Waste with Lifecycle Service - An affordable Way to Build (and Rebuild) Houses.

 

 • Piet Mondrian + Jean Prouve = Loq•kit – Treehugger Article by Lloyd Alter, 12.4.2007


  • The TH Interview: Gregg Lewis, Organizer of the C2C-Home Competition – Treehugger Article, 1.20.2005



  • C2C Home Competition Press Release – Announcement of Winners (4.02mb)