Located in Lawrence, United States, 3716 Springfield residence was designed by Studio 804, Inc. is pending the first LEED Platinum home award in the Kansas City Metropolitan area. As one of the Best Green Houses, this single family residence at 3716 Springfield in Kansas City is an environmentally conscious, modern green home design performing completely ‘off the grid’ in an area of the city desperately in need of revitalisation. The Studio 804’s sustainable house design being “off the grid” eliminates the homeowner’s consistent dependency on natural resources. The green house’s complete energy needs are reduced by the 100% use of renewable energy sources as a means of power with active systems including a wind turbine and photovoltaic solar panels.

Also, the residence is dedicated to teaching the community and provides tours to all interested parties in order to effectively encourage the neighbourhood to become knowledgeable in sustainable architecture. In both its rectilinear plan and appearance, the infill home almost resembles a barn, although voids like double-height glazing on the western elevation and a second-floor balcony, are pulled from the skin. The northern elevation is devoid of openings but for apertures that allow natural ventilation to exit. The exterior is actually an FSC-certified hardwood rain screen. Doulgas fir lumber reclaimed from a deconstructed Sunflower Ammunition Plant warehouse comprises structural supports and interior walls.

The four-bedroom simple house design highlights several passive-design techniques. The open-plan ground floor rests on a sealed concrete slab that provides thermal mass. The galley kitchen opens to south-facing glass shaded by louvers that allow heat gain during winter. A dramatically glassy west wall also sports sunscreens, as well as insulated rolling shades. Wet-pack blown cellulose insulation achieves R-20 in the exterior-wall assembly and R-38 in the roof. Thanks to its deployment of active sustainable technologies, notably a 600-square-foot, 4.8-kilowatt rooftop photovoltaic array and a residential wind turbine, 3716 Springfield should produce more energy than it consumes during the day. The net-metered house also includes a ground-source heat pump that stabilizes the interior climate.

Studio 804 serves as the final design studio for graduate students at the University of Kansas School of Architecture, Design and Urban Planning. This final, single semester, comprehensive experience provides students with critical knowledge that prepares them for their future work as young architects in a rapidly changing and challenging profession. Studio 804 is funded by the efforts of the 20+ students enrolled in the program, and its future success relies on the labours of each new, incoming group of graduate students. The students experience firsthand the work required and the technical skill involved in the building process and are engrossed in the newest sustainable technologies.

In Best Green Houses column, Rockhill says, “As I say to my students, ‘If we don’t do it, who will?’ Let’s try getting people interested in modern architecture and talking about sustainable design.” In addition to heading his firm Rockhill + Associates, Dan Rockhill runs Studio 804 for completing their M.Arch degrees at the University of Kansas School of Architecture Design and Urban Planning. The add-ons raised the cost of 3716 Springfield to approximately $750,000, a number Rockhill determines by adding Studio 804’s hard costs, contributions, and the value of student labor. The house was originally listed at $350,000, still outside the range of the typical starter house in the area. Vie more at the Green House Design at 3716 Springfield pictures below…

exterior hardwood facade of Green House Design at 3716 Springfield

interior living area of Green House Design at 3716 Springfield

interior kitchen and dining of Green House Design at 3716 Springfield

exterior solar roof of Green House Design at 3716 Springfield

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 at 9:34 am and is filed under Architecture Award, Architecture News, Green Buildings, Home Design. Tags: active sustainable technologies, active systems, Animagic Studio Inc, Dan Rockhill, energy needs, Energy policy, Environmental design, green architecture concept design, green home design, green house design, Low-energy building, modern architecture, renewable energy sources, Rockhill Resources Limited, simple House Design, single family residence, sports sunscreens, Studio 804, Sunflower Ammunition Plant warehouse, Sustainability, sustainable architecture, sustainable building, Sustainable Design, Sustainable development, sustainable home design, sustainable house design, sustainable technologies, United States Architecture, University of Kansas School of Architecture Design and Urban Planning. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.