The Green+House Project chronicles the process of greening the standard American home. Various green design and construction resources are available and countless claims to green homes have been made. This project will scour the scattered resources, challenge claims and conventions, and ultimately present the conclusions in a detailed description of a home from the ground to the roof. The process and conclusions will be transparent and available to all via the web. Please join the discussion and the greater mission to achieve Green Design For All!
The Motivation:
This project is born out of the frustration of unrealized and under realized projects that begin with green intent and eventually lose their soul to the pressures of budget, time, creative hubris, and lack of commitment from designers and clients. This project is fueled by the myth (hopefully) that green is expensive and the reality that only about 30% of homes built involve an architect. (The actual number is arguable, but my strong sentiment is that architects should be involved with more homes. This could be argued to be the problem of architects or home owners/builders. This is a discussion for another platform.) It is hoped that by examining industry standards in the assembly and materials of a home, a cost effective green alternative can emerge. The step by step analysis will be a transparent process that reveals the frustrations and successes of realizing a relatively simple goal: to detail a cost effective, environmentally responsible building section. In doing so green resources will be evaluated, materials and methods will be analyzed and categorized, and comparisons of the industry standard to the green alternatives will provide the measuring stick. Ultimately, the applicability of the results will determine the success.
The Problem:
Designing, specifying, and building a green home is a well intentioned aspiration that often loses momentum and focus as taking responsibility for each step of the process can be slow and exhausting of time and money/fee. Undertaking the research to specify green materials and systems continues to be a daunting task. Information is vast, difficult to wade through, and even more challenging to quantify. Evaluating cost, value, and R.O.I. further complicates the effort. Numerous reputable certifications, guidelines, and rating systems exist and compete for relevancy. If a green home is the goal, one must also wade through all the information not relevant to the building type.
The Challenge:
The Green+House Project will undertake the challenge of working through the specification of a green home, the blog providing a transparent account of the effort. The house will be located in New England and serve an average family of four. The conclusions shall be organized in easily navigated graphics and spreadsheets that may serve as a resource for similar projects. Making the process and results transparent will be an important aspect of the study, blog, and final product.
The Strategy:
1. The house will be broken down into parts beginning from the ground up.
2. Standard, time tested details and building strategies will be the starting point. Green options will be compared to the industry standards and to each other.
3. Green product and materials will compete on performance.
4. Green products and materials will compete on cost.
5. The blog will host an anecdotal account of the process, while the website will host a graphic and organized account of the process/conclusions, building information onto the building model.
6. Each recommended product’s information will be input into a standard document that will evolve and grow with the project.
7. Research and proposed solutions will be submitted to peer scrutiny for additional input/due diligence.
8. A maximum 10 year R.O.I. will be observed in evaluating big ticket items and systems.
The Goal:
The Green+House Project hopes to be a transparent learning experience that offers value both through the process and in the conclusions. By locating the project in New England, a wide gamut of climatic issues will be engaged. A graphic representation of the final product will allow a user to roll over or click areas to access increasing levels of detail. Spreadsheets will offer clearly organized categories with final choices and other viable options. The graphics and spreadsheets will aim for easy digestibility by professionals and consumers alike. A successful final product would offer a holistic strategy for a green home and a template for expanding the research.
