Builder - September 2008 - (Page 60) GREEN HOUSE transportation infrastructure challenges, and air and water quality now and in the future. Detroit (pictured); Tampa, Fla.; New Orleans; Fort Worth, Texas; Windsor, Calif.; Morristown, N.J.; Parma, Ohio; Fellsmere, Fla.; Kauai, Hawaii; and Leon Valley, Texas, made the cut to receive SDAT technical assistance in 2008, the third year of the program. To learn more about the AIA Center for Communities by Design or the SDAT program visit http:// www.aia.org/liv_sdat. Tipping Point T he value of green home building has tipped and is expected to double by 2012, according to a report released in May by McGraw-Hill Construction and the NAHB. Specifically, the green housing niche is expected to be worth up to $20 billion (or about 10 percent of the overall market) this year and will balloon to perhaps a 20 percent share and a value nearing $70 billion in four years. In addition, 40 percent of builders today say green building is helping them sell homes in slow market conditions and that quality has emerged as the most important reason ▶ “Every single detail has an impact.” Pippin created a long list of those details, from fly-ash-content concrete for the garage foundation and retaining walls to advanced framing techniques that reduced construction waste. She also reused the original kitchen cabinets in a new “drop zone” area between the garage and the main living area; specified durable, recycled-content, low-maintenance metal for the home’s siding, roofi ng, and trim; and added solar panels for supplemental electricity and hot water. To address indoor air quality issues, Pippin masked all of the HVAC registers and return vents during construction and cleaned them out prior to occupancy to keep dust and debris out of the system, installed HEPA-rated fi lters and cleansource ventilators to refresh the air, and exhausted a trio of fi replaces to the exterior, also fitting them with fresh air intakes. The new garden room, located immediately adjacent to the garage, is conditioned, sealed, and ventilated to exhaust any nasty emissions before they make their way into the main living areas. Those specs added up to a whole-house system that qualified for federal Energy Star certification and is likely to pass the state’s independent HealthyBuilt Homes program standards. Pippin also followed the NAHB’s model green building guidelines, but completed the house FARM FRIENDLY: The home’s contemporary take on the before the association implemented its classic barn shape recalls Pippin’s childhood and the local archirating system. tectural context. A liberal use of durable metal finishes promotes Many of the ideas and applications of the home’s lasting appeal. green building contained in the project for them to do to achieve the overall goal.” have already dispersed beyond the home’s One key example was the HVAC sub. Pippin borders, thanks mainly to the personal tours and promotional events Pippin has hosted since insisted that he run calculations for the amount of finishing the project in January. “When we start- glass, room sizes, and the home’s orientation to ed [in mid-2006], there weren’t a lot of local the sun, among other considerations, to properly resources for green building products,” she says. size the heating and cooling equipment instead of simply relying on a per-foot formula. “It makes the house more comfortable and “A sustainable home is a holistic costs far less for the [typically downsystem. Every single detail has an sized] equipment and its energy use,” impact.”—Jennifer Pippin, owner, she says. Aesthetically, the new house resemPippin Home Designs bles the farm buildings Pippin grew up in “Now, we’re flooded with green products in this and around, but at the same time it addresses other, market.” often neglected aspects of green building she chose She also nurtured a stable of trade contractors to to incorporate, including universal design. “It is a respond to green housing demand that’s sure to crop home that is sustainable because it is durable, flexiup as a result of the project and ongoing promotional ble, efficient, accessible, and rejuvenates us and efforts. “We had to educate every contractor about everyone who visits it,” she says. “Each person must our goals and definition of green standards,” she re- defi ne for themselves what is green to them and how (see page 62) calls. “We needed to point out what was important far they want to take it.”—R.B. photos: left: Mavrinac.com; right: wes stearns 60 ■ B U I LD E R sep t e m ber 2 0 0 8 W W W.BUILDERONLINE.COM http://www.aia.org/liv_sdat http://www.aia.org/liv_sdat http://WWW.BUILDERONLINE.COM
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