Sustainability_Project

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 * THE PRINCIPLES FOR SUSTAINABLE DESIGN IN THE ENGLISH RESIDENCE **

While the definition of sustainable //building// design is constantly changing, there are six fundamental principles that persist, and the English Residence in Orleans, Massachusetts was constructed following those principles.

The house was constructed by the firm ZeroEnergy Design (ZED), that’s based in Boston, which is an integrated architecture and HVAC design firm focusing on modern green home design and zero energy homes and buildings.

This modern eco sustainable home, which treads lightly on the land, is a vision of self-sufficiency and Earth-friendly living.

 The house was build to replace the original building and the idea was to follow the family traditions that have developed since the land was purchased in 1958.

The original house was the idea of the client’s parents, who were botanist and both conservation oriented. They planned to tread lightly on the property, imagining self sufficiency.

Over time, that original house became a central hub, the place to connect with international family members, and the most consistent place they all considered home. The entire family loves art, so it was always an integral part of the house.

The first of the six principles is to optimize existing structure potential. Creating a sustainable building starts with proper site selection, including the rehabilitation of existing buildings.

In this case ZED took and existing house and “rehabilitate” it considering the needs of the family and the needs of the environment creating an extremely efficient green house.

This new sustainable house is bright orange on the outside, but it’s green everywhere else. It focuses on the outdoor environment and continues the legacy of a modern artistic home. New features include the clean, green feeling through the house, healthy indoor air quality, very comfortable and stable temperatures from the radiant floors, and exceptional energy performance with renewable energy systems. And, the artist family members immediately felt that the new home’s bright red, orange, and cedar colors really ‘made the house’.

On the ground level, we can find a porch that provides indoor/outdoor living with a step down decking as stairs that can also work as seating for some family events. Then on the second level there is a roof deck that offers the feeling of living between trees, with a glass rail to open the view and an outdoor kitchen for entertaining. Other principles are protect and conserve water, and optimize energy use, and this house has a lush, living green roof built next to the roof deck, to fill the view with green vegetation at eye level while seated, as well as provide isolative value, energy savings, and reduce roof run-off from storm water.

It also has, in the second level rooftop, 2.5 kilowatts of solar electric panels which provides ~30% of the home’s electricity. Other green features are solar hot water system, radiant floors, a hydro air system, an energy recovery ventilator, open and closed cell spray foam insulation, rigid insulation and Energy Star-certified HERS 39.

The fourth principle is to use materials that minimize environmental impacts like global warming and human toxicity. These materials have a reduced effect on human health and the environment.

In the house renewable and recyclable details like bamboo flooring, recycled glass tile and FSC certified Garapa wood where used for the porch and rooftop deck. The fifth principle it’s about the Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ), where the idea it’s to maximize daylight, and have great ventilation and moisture control. An example in this house would be the master bedroom that features views of the lake through the trees, with a walk-in closet, and a full bathroom. Awning and casement windows on opposite sides of the bed, two at floor level and one near the ceiling, encourage passive ventilation with cool air on hot summer nights. To help with the general ventilation, the house has open and closed cell spray foam insulation and rigid insulation.

Every space of the house it’s completely open to use every daylight possible and give that feeling of integration between the outside and the inside, like the living space, which is a wide open living space that functions as the ‘heart’ of the home, with areas for relaxing, dining, and cooking.

And finally the sixth principle, which is to consider all the previous principles mentioned before in the designing phase. This would help to improved working environments, to get higher productivity and reduced energy and resource costs. Also designers can encourage building operators and maintenance personnel to participate in the design and development phases to ensure optimal operations and maintenance of the building. And Zed as a firm has already a system that works perfectly with this principle.

They provide energy efficiency recommendations and HVAC design for homes and buildings. Depending on the goals, they can provide a variety of energy performance packages including: deep energy retrofit, super insulated, Passive House, cost-optimal, zero fossil fuel consumption, and net zero energy.