[SustainableTompkins] First cradle-to-cradle house takes shape in Virginia

[GayNicholson at aol.com]

Walking the Cradle

First cradle-to-cradle house takes shape in Virginia
 
By Allison Milionis 
18 Oct 2006
 
 
Nothing about this traditional  design says "gray water treatment happens 
here."
Renderings: Southern Heritage  Homes

Lined with rundown,  century-old houses and situated within a couple miles of 
downtown Roanoke, the  neighborhood of Gainsboro, Va., seems an unlikely 
place to hatch a  groundbreaking architectural experiment. But in early November, 
construction  will begin there on the first cradle-to-cradle house, with those 
behind the  project hoping to show that green can be affordable. 

In many ways,  Gainsboro is the perfect site for such an undertaking. After 
suffering years of  deterioration and failed urban-renewal efforts, the city's 
oldest neighborhood  had been targeted by municipal leaders for sprucing up. 
Then, in 2004, local  architects Gregg Lewis and Jennifer Smith Lewis, of 
SmithLewis Architecture,  suggested the C2C concept for a housing design 
competition. By the end of the  year, more than 600 submissions from 41 countries had 
flooded the SmithLewis  office. 

Designers were guided by a list of five issues that summed up  the 
sustainability principles defined by architect William McDonough and chemist  Michael 
Braungart in their 2002 book, _Cradle to Cradle:  Remaking the Way We Make 
Things_ (http://www.grist.org/advice/books/2002/07/25/design/) . In addition to 
finding ways to  eliminate construction waste and adapt natural energy systems, 
the list included  "celebrating context" -- the seamless integration of a C2C 
house into any type  of neighborhood.

After all the entries were sorted through, a  Seattle-based team led by 
architects Matthew Coates and Tim Meldrum was awarded  first place. However, though 
the pair's L-shaped, concrete-and-steel C2C concept  was visually stunning 
and technologically sophisticated, the C2C organizers (now  an official 
nonprofit organization called _C2C Home_ (http://www.c2c-home.org/) ) knew it wouldn't 
fly in a conventional neighborhood  like Gainsboro. So they looked for an 
alternate -- an unassuming design that  would fit the bill. And they found it in 
the work of two local  architects.



 
The cradle-to-cradle house will blend right in to  Gainsboro's classic 
streets. 
Photo: Virginia Department of Historic  Resources



 
The local connection "was not intentional," explains Nell  Boyle, C2C Home 
assistant director. She says the house designed by Richard Rife  and Stephen 
Feather is just more appropriate for the community. "[Gainsboro  residents] 
expressed their concern that the house look like the others on the  street. And 
affordability was another factor. This is a low- to middle-class  neighborhood."

Unlike the winning entry, which introduces a new model for  living, the Rife 
and Feather design is a traditional, pitched-roof Southern home  that has been 
reproduced nationwide for hundreds of years. "We took the basic  ideas from 
C2C and incorporated features that are common around this area," says  Feather, 
a staff architect at the Interactive Design Group in Roanoke.

The  result is a house that conjures images of mom and apple pie, backyard 
barbecues  and front porch swings. There is nothing about this house that says 
"gray water  treatment happens here."

And that's exactly the point, says Boyle. What  C2C Home organizers hope to 
achieve in Gainsboro is to associate sustainability  with affordability and 
tradition. "We want to show that a green home doesn't  need to cost more or look 
different from its neighbors."

After mortgage  incentives and product donations, the estimated cost of the 
house hovers around  $95,000, within the ballpark of the median home price in  
Roanoke.

Passersby will not be able to distinguish the 1,602 square foot  C2C house 
from others lining the block, nor will they know that the structure is  
completely modular, Boyle says. Local manufacturer Southern Heritage Homes  created 
custom boxes of sustainably harvested wood in three sizes to be dropped  onto 
the site and arranged to fit the two-story floor plan. After being nailed  and 
screwed together, the modules will be finished with Hardiplank fiber cement  
board siding and shakes for a familiar "homey" effect.


The modules offer adaptability,  significant decreases in construction waste, 
and reduced building costs, all C2C  principles. The homeowner will likely 
see a savings in energy and water bills as  well: the metal roof is coated to 
maintain comfortable interior temperatures,  recycled pickle barrels will catch 
rainwater for irrigation, and low-flush  toilets and energy-efficient 
appliances are part of the package. In addition,  all paints, stains, carpet, 
cabinetry, and tiles contain no or low volatile  organic compounds (VOCs), cutting 
back on that "new house smell." 

The  C2C competition has generated a local movement of sorts that Boyle 
believes will  gather momentum with the completion of the inaugural Gainsboro 
house. In Roanoke  alone there are plans to build several more C2C homes, including 
the more  futuristic design by Coates and Meldrum. 

"Right now, the hurdles are  overcoming the misconceptions and the notion 
that things can't be done in a  different way and still be affordable," says 
Coates. "We're showing that it is  possible for the average person to create a 
more sustainable  lifestyle."


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----------------------------------------------------
Gay  Nicholson, Ph.D. 

607-533-7312 (home office)
607-279-6618  (cell)

1 Maple Avenue
Lansing, NY  14882
gaynicholson at aol.com

Sustainable Tompkins 
Program  Coordinator 
w_ww.sustainabletompkins.org_ (http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/) 

Southern Tier Energy$mart Communities
Regional  Coordinator
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County
615 Willow  Ave., Ithaca, NY  14850
agn1 at cornell.edu