LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA
COMPLETION: Target 2007
GOAL: Adapting an existing 1950s structure to meet a growing family’s needs rather than demolishing the entire structure and building from the ground up. We will utilize sustainable materials and techniques to decrease energy costs, to create a more comfortable, healthier indoor environment, and to minimize costs associated with transporting debris to a landfill.
SCOPE: Addition of 820 square feet to an existing 1,115 square foot 2 bedroom, 2 bath single family residence. The process will involve careful “deconstruction” of the existing structure, sorting and diverting material to recycling facilities; framing with structurally insulated panels (SIP); installing a dual-flush toilet and other water-reducing plumbing fixtures; selecting materials and finishes that have minimal impact on natural resources and that expose neither the homeowner’s family nor the manufacturer/installer to toxic chemicals.
SCOPE: Addition of 820 square feet to an existing 1,115 square foot 2 bedroom, 2 bath single family residence. The process will involve careful “deconstruction” of the existing structure, sorting and diverting material to recycling facilities; framing with structurally insulated panels (SIP); installing a dual-flush toilet and other water-reducing plumbing fixtures; selecting materials and finishes that have minimal impact on natural resources and that expose neither the homeowner’s family nor the manufacturer/installer to toxic chemicals.
SUSTAINABLE ATTRIBUTES
- Modification of an existing structure has less impact on the environment than construction of an entirely new home because there is less material harvested, manufactured, or transported.
- Carefully deconstructing portions of the existing structure and sorting by material type enables valuable resources to be recycled, keeping them out of the landfill.
- Because they are prefabricated to exact specifications offsite, SIP panels generate less construction waste and thus save trees.
- SIP panels are more energy efficient than conventional wood-framed walls with fiberglass batt insulation because they have a higher insulating capacity, or R-value, for the same wall thickness.
- Use of sustainable materials such as bamboo flooring, which rapidly renews itself, lessens the impact on the natural environment.
- Use of materials having little to no harmful chemicals prevents those chemicals, during their manufacturing phase, from entering the waste stream or contaminating the water supply.
- Plumbing fixtures with “low-flow” features reduce household water use and thus preserve the water supply in an arid region
