Building Green and Affordable

After months of brainstorming, researching and designing an affordable, environmentally sustainable house, on April 21, 2007, 53 teams of architecture students from nine different schools across the state gathered in the N.C. Museum of Life and Science for the N.C. Sustainable Design Competition.  The museum was bursting with the energy and enthusiasm of students hoping their design would win.  The stakes were high.  The first place winner would receive a $3,000 cash prize, represent North Carolina in the National U.S. Green Building Council’s Emerging Green Builder Design Competition, and have their design built by Self-Help at 1020 Kent Street in Durham’s Lyon Park neighborhood.  The students brought their best new ideas and creative design solutions to the table. 

Fast forward to today—the winning design is almost complete and ready to be put on the market.  Emily Axtman, Katelyn Baird, Maria Hill, Will Lambeth and Josh Wheeler from North Carolina State University were the students who won the competition and were given the opportunity to see their hard work become a low-income family’s first home.

The original design embraced passive solar technology with numerous south-facing windows, a generous roof overhang and plenty of trees for shade.  Water conserving features included drought-resistant landscaping and a 55-gallon rain collection barrel.  A Manabloc manifold plumbing system provided water quickly and efficiently, reducing water use and water heating costs. Additionally, a well-insulated, tight building envelope prevented air leakage and moisture penetrations.

Getting the plans to the point that the house could actually be built required, “taking a much harder look at the cost value of each individual strategy and saying ‘is this worth it?’” said Randy Lanou of BuildSense, Inc., the builder selected to construct the house. 

Almost all of the sustainable design features from the original student design, such as passive solar design, the manifold water system and the tight building envelope, were kept.  Some significant changes included switching from wall panel construction to more conventional 2 x 6 stud walls.

Other “green” features were added, such as low-flow faucets and shower heads to save water, efficient roofing to reduce the cooling load, and FLOR™ carpet tiles, which minimize the release of toxins, are modular for easy installation and repair, are made from recycled content, and are themselves recyclable.  The result was a plan that fit the budget constraints of an affordable house but stayed true to the students’ original vision in terms of design elements and sustainability.

Like all of Self-Help’s affordable houses, this one meets Advanced Energy’s SystemVision standards and the standards of the national ENERGY STAR program.  In addition, the house will be certified by the Home Builders Association of Durham, Orange & Chatham’s Green Building program.

Self-Help uses green and energy-efficient building techniques that directly benefit low-income homeowners.  Reduced utility bills help families preserve their limited incomes for other necessities, and high air quality standards help prevent the health problems that disproportionately impact disadvantaged communities.