The Green House - New Directions in Sustainable Architecture (Malestrom)

P200412234 LPP (zjt) 175L M45

The Green House

Alanna Stang and Christopher Hawthorne

Princeton Architectural PressNew York

The National Building MuseumWashington, D.C.

greenhouse

the

P200412234 LPP (zjt) 175L M45

New Directions in Sustainable Architecture

greenhouse

4 Copyright

5Dedication

For András,

Rachel, and Willa;

and for architects,

writers, and

environmentalists

to come

contents

6

9 FOREWORD

10 INTRODUCTION Camera-Ready

Green Design

52 Suburb

54 Solar Tube

62 Charlotte Residence

68 Villa Sari

74 Little Tesseract

80 Mill Valley Straw-Bale

House

84 Naked House

18 City

20 P.A.R.A.S.I.T.E. Project

26 156 Reade Street

30 Colorado Court

34 Viikki

38 1310 East Union Street

42 Sea Train House

48 The Solaire

90 Mountainside

92 House with Shades

96 SolarHaus III

100 Great (Bamboo) Wall

106 R128

Contents

Contents 7

112 Waterside

114 Howard House

120 Swart Residence

126 Lake Washington House

130 Walla Womba Guest House

134 McKinley House

160 Tropics

162 Casuarina Beach House

168 Taylor House

174 Casa de Carmen

140 Desert

142 Tucson Mountain House

148 Giles Loft/Studio

154 Loloma 5 Lofts

180 Anywhere

182 Glide House

188 FEATURED ARCHITECTS

190 RESOURCES

8

acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

9

foreword

Foreword

ONE AFTERNOON SEVERAL MONTHS AGO, we found ourselves waiting

in the quiet, impossibly picturesque Swiss town of Domat/Ems to

meet an architect named Dietrich Schwarz. Though still in his thir-

ties, Schwarz has already earned a reputation as one of Switzerland’s

leading practitioners of the environmentally friendly approach to

architecture known as sustainable, or “green,” design. Using a com-

bination of new, high-tech materials—some of his own invention—

and old-fashioned architectural wisdom, he creates houses and other

buildings that are snugly energy-efficient and sit lightly on the land.

camera-ready green design

10 Introduction

11Camera-Ready Green Design

12

Standards and Practices

Introduction

13

A Very Short History

Camera-Ready Green Design

14

A Movement’s Priorities

Introduction

15Camera-Ready Green Design

16

The Damage Done

Introduction

17Camera-Ready Green Design

18 City

Cities have been around for morethan six thousand years, drawing successive waves of new

residents with their blend of commerce, culture, energy, and

opportunity. The first city to surpass a population of one

million was Baghdad, thirteen centuries ago. London topped

five million in 1825; New York exceeded ten million a hundred

years later. The metropolitan area around Tokyo surpassed

twenty million in 1965 and is now closing in on thirty.

18

city

19Urban 19City

20 City

21

Rotterdam, the Netherlands

Rien Korteknie and Mechthild Stuhlmacher

P.A.R.A.S.I.T.E. projectKorteknie Stuhlmacher Architecten 2001

P.A.R.A.S.I.T.E. Project

22 City

23Urban

24 City

25P.A.R.A.S.I.T.E. Project

26 City

27

New York, New York

John Petrarca

156 READE STREETStudio Petrarca 2001

156 Reade Street

28 City

29156 Reade Street

30 City

31

Santa Monica, California

Angela Brooks

Colorado CourtPugh + Scarpa Architecture 2002

Colorado Court

32 City

33Colorado Court

34 City

35

Helsinki, FinlandViikkiVarious architects Ongoing

Viikki

36 City

37Viikki

38 City

39

Seattle, Washington

David Miller

1310 East Union StreetThe Miller/Hull Partnership 2001

1310 East Union Street

40 City

411310 East Union Street

42 City

43

Los Angeles, California

Jennifer Siegal

sea train houseOffice of Mobile Design 2003

Sea Train House

44 City

45Sea Train House

Green Features

ADAPTIVE RE-USE

OF MATERIALS

The house’s structural

elements are old sea-going

storage containers, some

of which had been on site

before the project began.

NATURAL LIGHT

With a glass curtain-wall

facade and strategically

placed exposures on the

side and rear elevations,

the house uses nothing but

natural light during the day.

RECLAIMED WOOD

The massive Douglas fir

crossbeams, which support

the cantilevered roof, were

reclaimed from a nearby

construction site.

NATURAL MICROCLIMATE

The lush front garden, which

includes a stream fed by

recycled water, generates

cool breezes and fresh air,

both of which are lacking in

Sea Train’s asphalt-covered

neighborhood.

46 City

47Sea Train House

48 City

49

New York, New York

Rafael Pelli

The SolaireCesar Pelli & Associates Architects 2002

The Solaire

50 City

51The Solaire

Suburbs are everywhere,everywhere cities are found. Conceived as a kind of utopia that

would allow city workers to live in pastoral surroundings, the

suburb, with its voracious appetite for open space and low-

rise, low-density development, has turned out to be one of

mankind’s more harmful intrusions on the environment.

52

suburb

5353Suburb

Vienna, Austria

Georg Driendl

SOLAR TUBEDriendl Architects 2001

5555Solar Tube

56 Suburb

Suburb

ISOLATION GLASS

Dual-ply windows containing

a thin metallic layer that

attracts winter’s short rays

while deflecting summer’s

long ones help regulate

interior temperatures.

CONCRETE CORE

A massive base of reinforced

concrete serves as both

structural anchor and

passive solar collector,

absorbing heat during

the day and then slowly

releasing it at night.

LOCAL MATERIALS

Driendl used locally quarried

granite as floor covering for

both the first and second

levels and maple wood

grown in a neighboring

forest for the custom

cabinetry and furniture.

CHIMNEY EFFECT

In the warm months of

summer, the retractable

glass roof provides a

convenient escape hatch for

rising hot air as well an easy

ingress for cool breezes.

Green Features

58

59Solar Tube

Suburb60

6161Solar Tube

Charlotte, North Carolina

Allison Ewing and William McDonough

Charlotte residenceWilliam McDonough + Partners 2002

6363Charlotte Residence

Suburb64

6565Charlotte Residence

Suburb66

6767Charlotte Residence

Suburbs are everywhere,everywhere cities are found. Conceived as a kind of utopia that

would allow city workers to live in pastoral surroundings, the

suburb, with its voracious appetite for open space and low-

rise, low-density development, has turned out to be one of

mankind’s more harmful intrusions on the environment.

52

suburb

5353Suburb

68

69

Pori, Finland

Hannu Kiiskilä

villa sariARRAK ArkkitehditRR 2000

Villa Sari

Suburb70

7171Villa Sari

Suburb72

7373Villa Sari

Rhinebeck, New YorkYY

Steven Holl

Little tesseract Steven Holl Architects

75Little Tesseract

2004

7777Little Tesseract

78 Suburb

studio

010

5025

bedroom

cooling pond dining room

Marin County, California

David Arkin and Anni Tilt

Mill valley straw-bale houseArkin Tilt Architects 2001

8181Mill Valley Straw-Bale House

Suburb82

83Mill Valley Straw-Bale House

85

Kawagoe, JapanNaked house2001Shigeru BanShigeru Ban Architects

Naked House

86 Suburb

87Naked House

88 Suburb

89Naked House

90

More than ten billion acres of the Earth’s surface are covered in forest, and most of that

land falls in sparsely populated mountainous regions. These

stunning landscapes, among the last to resist industrializa-

tion, urbanization, and suburban sprawl, are essential to the

survival of the planet. They promote water and soil conser-

vation, provide flood control, synthesize huge amounts of

oxygen, help protect against climate change, and promote

long-term biodiversity.

90

MOUNTAINSIDE

9191Mountainside

92 Mountainside

93

Jebenhausen, Germany

Joachim and Gabriele Achenbach

House with shadesAchenbach Architekten + Designer 2000

House with Shades

95House with Shades

96 Mountainside

97

Ebnat-Kappel, Switzerland

Dietrich Schwarz

solarhaus iiiSchwarz Architektur 2000

SolarHaus III

98 Mountainside

99SolarHaus III

100 Mountainside

101

Commune by the Great Wall, Shuiguan-Badaling, China

Kengo Kuma

Great (bamboo) wallKengo Kuma & Associates 2002

Great (Bamboo) Wall

102 Mountainside

103Great (Bamboo) Wall

104 Mountainside

105Great (Bamboo) Wall

106 Mountainside

107

Stuttgart, Germany

Werner Sobek

R128Werner Sobek Ingenieure 2002

R128

108 Mountainside

SOLAR PANELS

The electrical energy needed

to run the mechanical

ventilation system is

supplied by solar receptors

embedded in the roof.

SPLIT-SYSTEM

AIR CONDITIONING

Each floor has a separate

temperature control, which

allows the system to cool

or heat only the space

being used.

RECYCLABLE MATERIALS

From the wood panel

flooring and glass walls to

the bolted steel skeleton,

every component of the

house was chosen for its

capacity to be recycled.

TRIPLE GLAZING

With three layers of glass

containing a film of metal-

coated plastic foil in the air

space between the outer

and central panes, as well

as inert gas between each

layer, the windows have

an extremely low heat

transmission value.

NATURAL LIGHT

Floor-to-ceiling

windows eliminate the

need for artificial light

during the day.

Green Features

110 Mountainside

111R128

112

While few of us make a living fromthe sea or a river these days, more and more people are moving

to the water’s edge. Communities small and large are disman-

tling ports, repurposing docks, and greening embankments

for the benefit of their citizens and businesses. The recent

evolution of cities like Barcelona, London, and New York has

been closely tied to the renaissance of their once-decrepit

waterfronts, with the rehabilitation or addition of residential

units there among the most prominent improvements.

112

Waterside

113113Waterside

114 Waterside

West Pennant, Nova Scotia, Canada

Brian MacKay-Lyons

howard houseBrian MacKay-Lyons Architects 1999

Howard House 115

116 Waterside

117Howard House

118 Waterside

119Howard House

121

Melbourne, Australia

Peter Carmichael

Swart RESIDENCECocks Carmichael 2004

Swart Residence

122 Waterside

123Swart Residence

124 Waterside

125

Green Features

Swart Residence

CENTRAL AIRSHAFT

Cutting through all three

levels at the center of the

house, the airshaft is a site-

specific feature that improves

the internal air quality by

drawing fresh air from the

exterior above the traffic line.

PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS

The solar collectors on the

roof, which supply most of

the house’s electric power, are

connected to the power grid

with a 0.2KV inverter so that

excess electrical energy can

be returned to the electrical

supply authority.

RAINWATER COLLECTION

Rain is collected from the

roofs of the main house and

the garage and distributed to

the garden by an automated

irrigation system.

AUTOMATED CLIMATE

CONTROLS

An integrated system

controls lights, blinds, air-

conditioning, and security,

and can be programmed

to respond to light and

temperature conditions

as well as patterns of

occupancy.

112

While few of us make a living fromthe sea or a river these days, more and more people are moving

to the water’s edge. Communities small and large are disman-

tling ports, repurposing docks, and greening embankments

for the benefit of their citizens and businesses. The recent

evolution of cities like Barcelona, London, and New York has

been closely tied to the renaissance of their once-decrepit

waterfronts, with the rehabilitation or addition of residential

units there among the most prominent improvements.

112

Waterside

113113Waterside

126

127

Mercer Island, Washington

Jim Olson

Lake Washington HOUSEOlson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects 2004

Lake Washington House

128

129Lake Washington House

131

Bruny Island, Tasmania, Australia

Cath Hall, Mike Verdouw, Fred WardVV

walla womba guest house1+2 Architecture 2003

Walla Womba Guest House

133Walla Womba Guest House

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bt hrh

fwt

b

shr

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outdoor livinglivingsleepingentry

0 1 3 6m

135

Venice, CaliforniaVV

David Hertz and Stacy Fong

McKinley HOUSE David Hertz Architects/Syndesis 2004

McKinley House

137McKinley House

139McKinley House

140 Desert

With its often unbearable temperaturesand scarce amounts of natural water, the desert is one of the

harshest environments on Earth. But it is also a place of refuge

and solace—a sanctuary for people seeking rejuvenation,

spiritual uplift, and relief from the crush of big cities. Recently,

however, especially in the United States, large tracts of desert

land have been metastasizing into suburbs, with homogenous

subdivisions connected by six-lane highways.

140

desert

141141Desert

142 Desert

143

Tucson, Arizona

Rick Joy

tucson mountain houseRick Joy Architects 2001

Tucson Mountain House

144 Desert

145Tucson Mountain House

146 Desert

147Tucson Mountain House

148 Desert

San Antonio, Texas

Ted Flato, Bob Harris, Heather DeGrella

Giles Loft/StudioLake/Flato Architects 2001

Giles Loft/Studio 149

150 Desert

151Giles Loft/Studio

152 Desert

153

HIGH-EFFICIENCY

AIR-CONDITIONING

Because the peaked roof

allows hot air to rise,

less air conditioning is

needed and then, only on

the hottest days.

FRITTERED GLASS

Covered with small ceramic

dots that act like light-

transmitting blinds, the

windows and skylights

reduce heat gain and

glare while keeping the

space bright.

PLASTER WALLS

With a high sand content,

the plaster walls act as

thermal collectors, aborbing

much of the heat so that the

air temperature stays cool.

SAW-TOOTH ROOF

The north-facing glass

panels flood the house with

light. Even on gray days,

artificial light is rarely

necessary.

Green Features

154 Desert

155

Scottsdale, Arizona

Will Bruder

LoLoma 5 Lofts Will Bruder Architects 2004

LoLoma 5 Lofts

156 Desert

157LoLoma 5 Lofts

158 Desert

159LoLoma 5 Lofts

160

Between the Tropic of Cancer and theTropic of Capricorn lies a region where there are just two sea-

sons and temperatures are persistently high. The oppressive

heat and humidity give way to periods of epic rainfall and pun-

ishing storms—typhoons, cyclones, tornadoes—that can cause

indiscriminate damage whenever and wherever they strike.

160

tropics

161161Tropics

162 Tropics

163

Kingscliff, New South Wales, Australia

Annabel Lahz and Andrew Nimmo

Casuarina Beach houseLahz Nimmo Architects 2001

Casuarina Beach House

164 Tropics

165Casuarina Beach House

166 Tropics

167

RECLAIMED WOOD

CLADDING

All exterior timber cladding

and battens are of blue

gum, a hardwood native to

the area that the architects

salvaged from an old railway

bridge. The hoop-pine

plywood ceiling panels were

sourced from plantation

timbers.

NO-TECH VENTING

Despite the tropical

conditions, the house

contains no mechanized

air-conditioning aside from

ceiling fans. Slatted panels

above doorways allow for

cross ventilation at night.

FOUNDATION-LESS

STRUCTURE

Elevated on treated steel

struts (not shown), the

house hovers over the

landscape instead of being

set into the earth. This

arrangement not only

minimizes the environmental

impact, it also allows cool

air to circulate up from

underneath.

Green Features

ON-SITE WATER

PURIFICATION

A series of cisterns converts

rain into drinking water and

treats waste water for use

in irrigation and flushing so

that neither storm water nor

sewage ever leaves the site.

Casuarina Beach House

169

Scotland Cay, Bahamas

Frank Harmon

taylor houseFrank Harmon and Associates 2001

Taylor House

170 Tropics

171Tropics

172 Tropics

173Taylor House

174 Tropics

175

Baja California Sur, Mexico

Marsha Maytum and Roberto Sheinberg

casa de carmenLeddy Maytum Stacy Architects 2001

Casa de Carmen

176 Tropics

177Casa de Carmen

179Casa de Carmen

180

One of the most significantdevelopments in residential architecture over the last several

years, particularly in the United States and Europe, has been

the effort to rehabilitate the reputation of prefabricated, or

modular, housing. Using powerful design software that allows

them to combine the cost savings of factory-built homes with

the aesthetic benefits of customized design, a number of

young firms are creating modular houses that offer sophisti-

cated architecture at a remarkably low price.

180

anywhere

181181Anywhere

182 Anywhere

Anywhere

Michelle Kaufmann

GLIDE HOUSEMichelle Kaufmann Designs 2004

183Project name

184 Anywhere

185Glide House

186 Anywhere

187Glide House

188

FEATURED ARCHITECTS

Resources

189Featured Architects

190

resources

Resources

191

P.A.R.A.S.I.T.E.

156 Reade Street

Colorado Court

Viikki

130 East Union Street

Sea Train House

The Solaire

Solar Tube

Charlotte Residence

Villa Sari

Little Tesseract

Mill Valley Straw-Bale House

Naked House

House with Shades

SolarHaus III

Great (Bamboo) Wall

R128

Howard House

Swart Residence

Lake Washington House

Walla Womba Guest House

McKinley House

Tucson Mountain House

Giles Loft/Studio

LoLoma 5 Lofts

Casaurina Beach House

Taylor House

Casa de Carmen

Photography credits

Photography Credits

192 Colophon

This book is printed on Zander Mega,

which is made from 40 percent

reclaimed pulp.

The typefaces used in this book are

Thesis Serif, Clarendon, and

Rosewood.