Establish a site.
Identify the problems in the existing home that need addressed in the new design.
Construction Starts with a solid foundation.
Framing begins.
Weather tight.
Brick installed
Indoor air quality issues being addressed during construction.
Electrical system installed.
Final details
A ceiling fan allows you to reduce the use of your traditional heating and cooling system and still live comfortably. I would always recommend purchasing a fan that has the energy star label. This gives you the most energy-efficient solution for your home. UNTIL NOW. Check out the Haiku! This fan has a sleek modern look and delivers an 80% improvement in energy-efficiency over conventional ceiling fans using only 2 to 30 W as opposed to the energy star level of 90 – 110 W. The fan also uses bamboo for the blades creating a naturally beautiful, fully renewable and incredibly strong solution. I hope to be able to post pictures of my own project with this fan installed soon!
Ambient lighting: Lighting in an area from any source that produces general illumination, as opposed to task lighting.
Biodegradeable: A material or substance which will decompose quickly and without harmful effects to the environment, when left exposed to nature.
Building pressurization: The air pressure within a building relative to the air pressure outside. Positive building pressurization is usually desirable to avoid infiltration of unconditioned and unfiltered air. Positive pressurization is maintained by providing adequate outdoor makeup air to the HVAC system to compensate for exhaust and leakage.
Carbon Footprint: A Carbon Footprint is a measure of the impact our activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases we produce. It is measured in units of carbon dioxide. Here is a carbon footprint calculator from the Nature Conservancy.
Constructed wetland: Any of a variety of designed systems that approximate natural wetlands, use aquatic plants, and can be used to treat wastewater or runoff.
Cradle-to-grave analysis: Analysis of the impact of a product from the beginning of its source gathering processes, through the end of its useful life, to disposal of all waste products. Cradle-to-cradle is a related term signifying the recycling or reuse of materials at the end of their first useful life.
Embodied energy: Embodied Energy is the total energy sequestered from a stock within the earth in order to produce a specific good or service including extraction, manufacture, and transportation to market.
Energy Efficient: Products and systems that use less energy to perform as well or better than standard products. While energy-efficient products sometimes have higher up-front costs, they tend to cost less over their lifetime when the cost of energy consumed is factored in. An example of this is LED light bulbs vs. incandescent bulbs. Here is a good place to start finding Energy Efficient products.
Formaldehyde: A gas used widely in production of adhesives, plastics, preservatives, and fabric treatments and commonly emitted by indoor materials that are made with its compounds. It is highly irritating if inhaled and is now listed as a probable human carcinogen.
Green: A common metaphor referring to environmental association based on the shared secondary color of many plants. It is often used to associate products, organizations, political parties, or policies with environmentally sensitivity. It has largely been misused by marketing departments and therefore has lost true meaning.
Indoor air quality (IAQ): According to ASHRAE Standard 62-1989, indoor air quality is defined as air in which there are no known contaminants at harmful concentrations as determined by cognizant authorities and with which a substantial majority (80 percent or more) of the people exposed do not express dissatisfaction.
LEED/LEED Certification: In the United States and in a number of other countries around the world, the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification is the recognized standard for measuring building sustainability. Here is some more in-depth discussion: here.
Life-cycle: The consecutive, interlinked stages of a product, beginning with raw materials acquisition and manufacture and continuing with its fabrication, manufacture, construction, and use, and concluding with any of a variety of recovery, recycling, or waste management options.
Native vegetation: A plant whose presence and survival in a specific region is not due to human intervention.
Natural: A product that is made from materials and ingredients found in nature, with little or no human intervention. For example, wood is a natural material while plastic is not.
Photovoltaic: Generation of electricity from the energy of sunlight, using photocells.
Renewable Energy: Energy derived from sources that do not deplete natural resources. Examples include solar, wind, and geothermal energy from the Earth’s core.
Sustainability: Sustainability is “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” This definition was created in 1987 at the World Commission on Environment and Development..
Sustainable Design: The design of products, services, buildings, or experiences that are sensitive to environmental issues and achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness in terms of energy and materials
VOC: Organic chemical compounds that have high enough vapor pressures under normal conditions to significantly vaporize and enter the atmosphere. In other words, that new car smell or new paint smell.
Waste Reduction: A process to reduce or eliminate that amount of waste generated at its source or to reduce the amount of toxicity from waste or the reuse of materials. The best way to reduce waste is not to create it in the first place.
As 2012 draws to a close I sit here thinking about what we have accomplished at Gaines Group architects, what we have left to get done, and the potential for our future. Unfortunately, the construction economy continues a very SLOW recovery and we continue to be faced with hard financial decisions. Our firm was fortunate through the last five years to retain all of our employees, even adding an intern position to the Harrisonburg office, but that has not been without sacrifice. Our clients have continued to show faith that our work adds value to their projects through healthy, energy-efficient, and durable design solutions, but those projects have come with tighter design scopes and shorter development timelines. Our planning process has been embraced by clients looking to renovate their basements, add decks, remodel bathrooms and kitchens, build new homes, develop commercial ventures, and even a couple of warehouses and industrial facility remodels. To say the least, we have a broad reach of projects and clients from all backgrounds. I hold fast that 2013 is the year that we emerge triumphant knowing that we have survived and will have the opportunity to serve many more happy clients for years to come throughout Virginia.
Some of our successful ventures in 2012 are listed below include:
1. Participating with many different community organizations giving presentations on green building, building science, social media, solar power, rainwater harvesting, and healthy environments. Our venues included the Spotswood Garden Club, James Madison University, University of Virginia School of Architecture, UVA Darden School of Business, Shenandoah Valley Technology Council, Shenandoah Valley Builders Association, Massanutten Technical Center, Department of Energy, and the Construction Specifications Institute.
2. The construction of our Crossroads Farm Custom Home was completed in February with some final punch list items left to get done. This energy-efficient home features vegetated retaining walls, a rainwater harvesting system, a high-performance HVAC system, self-cleaning windows, local materials, and a high-performance insulation package.
3. We participated in the SVBA Home Show, BRHBA Home Show, SVBA Green Expo, and Green Innovations Tour, and enjoyed many discussions about building science, healthy living, and energy efficiency.
4. Promoted buying and shopping local for all the locally owned businesses in Harrisonburg and the surrounding area.
5. Advocated for energy audits so everyone can save money and live healthier.
6. Promoted awareness of our strategy to design homes for every ability through Aging in Place design measures.
7. Celebrated 25 years in business!
8. Worked hard to support our community giving time to Charlottesville Habitat, Greene County Habitat, SVBA, BRHBA, HR Chamber of Commerce, HR Green Network, Parkview Church Creation Care Building Committee, and EMES PTF.
9. Was named the BEST of Virginia Architectural Firm in Harrisonburg for 2012 by Virginia Living Magazine.
10. Was named Best of Houzz 2012.
11. Ushered in the first-ever Harrisonburg Parklet Project into Downtown with the help of Eddie, Suzi, and Regan!
12. Completed design of projects including basement renovations, deck addition, kitchen renovation, bathroom renovation, a couple of garages, several custom homes (Crossroad Farm) (Dayton) (McGayesville), multi-family projects, commercial business renovation, commercial facility, warehouse space, and industrial renovation and addition.
We were contacted by a small business owner in Harrisonburg that wanted to start a new venture in town. I was familiar with the type of studio she was looking to create, but had never experienced it first hand. Her goal was to start the first Harrisonburg Bikram Yoga Studio. Bikram Yoga is a system of Yoga that Bikram Choudhury synthesized from traditional hatha yoga techniques and popularized beginning in the early 1970’s. Bikram Yoga is ideally practiced in a room heated to 105 degrees with a humidity of 40%. As an architect and a building scientist, this is the coolest design challenge and the scariest all in one project. Our first step was to do some research – this is the Charlottesville Bikram Yoga Studio.
We set off to design a functional, healthy, space for this new business in an old two story building. We evaluated the existing space, created drawings to start our design work, and met with the owner to layout the most functional solutions for her business goals.
Due to some circumstances beyond our control the project became a fast track schedule where we were still doing design while construction was ongoing. This is often not the best approach to a complicated design project, but we adapted. The design team by this point included the business owners, Winston Rhodes (mechanical engineer), Jim Herr (Contractor), Ken Wells (insulation expert), Deborah Smith (architectural intern), Amy Turnage (Interior Designer), and me. The challenge was to keep the humidity controlled inside the yoga studio and to protect the existing structural components of the building. If both of these goals are achieved the clients goal of having a healthy and functional space will be realized. I worked with Winston to cover the various options for performance then we both met with the entire team to discuss buildability / costs to deliver the best solution possible for this business use.
Once the plan was agreed on, construction continued on the space. First rigid insulation was installed on the interior of the wood studs. Then a vapor barrier of closed cell foam was installed.
Drywall brackets were created by Jim with consultations with the drywall company and local suppliers.
The finished product, in the works, will be a healthy, comfortable (110 degrees at 40% humidity) room for our client. While this is a very unique business type, all projects should take the care and attention this project did to building science elements. Planning up front always costs less than fixing the problems later. As we always say – Design Matters!
For more thoughts on saving money, protecting the environment, and on architectural design visit my websites:
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Looking back over past blogs and thinking about the future I came across this wish list from 2010 that I posted. Hope you find time to read it, time to relax, and have the best holiday season possible!
While I cannot say I will certainly be on Santa’s “nice” list, just to be safe, here is my Christmas wish list:
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
