Press

For Immediate Release
Visible Green Home® Tour of the 'Riverview House'
On Saturday and Sunday, February 4th and 5th, Architectural Resource, along with the builder, trade allies and suppliers, will be extremely pleased to share a very special home with the public. This remodeling project is registered with the National Association of Home Builders’ National Green Building Certification Program with the goal of ‘Emerald’, making it what we hope will be the first such remodel in S.E. Michigan to attain this program’s highest level of Green certification.
The public is invited to a enjoy a special perspective of this project: a unique glimpse of the inner workings of a potentially history making, whole-house, deep Green remodel…during its construction. Michael Klement, AIA, of Architectural Resource and Ben Lutzeier of Old School Construction, the architects and builders on the project, will personally take attendees through the project on guided tours. The myriad of Green and Sustainable design and construction features of the project will be presented and explained, firsthand. This is a rare opportunity – an insider’s opportunity - for you to learn about emerging new smart, sustainable residential design approaches which can be applied to your own project, be it new construction, addition, or remodel.
Key trade allies will also personally be on hand at the event to explain their critical contributions to this project’s scope and success: Big George’s Home Appliance Mart, www.big-georges.com; EverGreen Energy Savers, www.evergreenenergysavers.com; Superior Spray Solutions, www.foam123.com; and SUR Energy, www.sur.biz. Other key trade allies were G&K Floor Covering, www.gkfloors.com; and Gross Electric, www.grosselectric.com. Supporting partners were Ferguson Enterprises and The Kohler Company. If you have ever wondered about the challenges and the rewards of Green Design and Building, this is an event not to be missed!
In 2007, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the International Code Council (ICC) partnered to establish a standard definition of Green building designed exclusively for residential projects. The resulting ICC 700 National Green Building Standard™ is the first and only residential Green building rating system to receive approval from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The NGBS defines Green building for single and multifamily homes, residential remodeling projects, and site development.
For residential buildings, four threshold levels – Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Emerald – allow builders to quantify and qualify Green buildings. At the ‘Emerald’ level - the highest rating for a residential Green building - a remodeling project must comply with mandatory indoor environmental quality requirements and incorporate energy and water conservation measures resulting in reductions of 50% or greater.
This project represents a comprehensive, challenging remodel. It involves a complete redesign of the southernmost portion of the home into a master suite, additional remodeling in both the kitchen and daily entry areas, the creation of family gathering spaces in new first and second floor additions, and distinct energy and water consumption reduction upgrades to the entire home.
The new architectural design unifies the prior disjointed aspects of the home into a single, cohesive whole. The design also takes full advantage of the incredible siting of the home overlooking the Huron River to provide a new and expansive view of the river valley below. Our design concept was derived through a site sensitive, resource responsive approach. Careful analysis of the existing site embracing the window of solar opportunity led directly to the actual design of the new building form. The remodeled home now positions a new upper-story roof plane in the optimal location to harvest solar energy year-round. The two-story addition also incorporates a stack-effect passive cooling strategy, capturing the site's micro-weather patterns of constant summer-time breezes.
Our use of high performance building techniques and materials and state-of-the art renewable energy systems, in combination with energy performance retrofits on the existing home, will reduce our client’s total energy and water consumption by up to 65%, even though we will have added 1,055 additional square feet to the original 2,498 square foot home!
The event takes place on February 4th and February 5th, from 9 am till 5 pm.
Tours run every hour on the hour with the last tour beginning at 5 pm. The tours will run 45-50 minutes with 10-15 minutes for questions and answers.
Each hourly tour will be limited to a maximum of 25 people; our concerns are 1) group comfort and safety and 2) ensuring the best possible tour experience for each person, emphasizing individual attention and optimal access to project features throughout the home.
The tour is free, however advanced registration is required. Additional information is available to you at www.visiblegreenhome.com.
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Visible Green Home® Tour of the 'Riverview House'
On Saturday and Sunday, February 4th and 5th, Architectural Resource, along with the builder, trade allies and suppliers, will be extremely pleased to share a very special home with the public. This remodeling project is registered with the National Association of Home Builders’ National Green Building Certification Program with the goal of ‘Emerald’, making it what we hope will be the first such remodel in S.E. Michigan to attain this program’s highest level of Green certification.
The public is invited to a enjoy a special perspective of this project: a unique glimpse of the inner workings of a potentially history making, whole-house, deep Green remodel…during its construction. Michael Klement, AIA, of Architectural Resource and Ben Lutzeier of Old School Construction, the architects and builders on the project, will personally take attendees through the project on guided tours. The myriad of Green and Sustainable design and construction features of the project will be presented and explained, firsthand. This is a rare opportunity – an insider’s opportunity - for you to learn about emerging new smart, sustainable residential design approaches which can be applied to your own project, be it new construction, addition, or remodel.
Key trade allies will also personally be on hand at the event to explain their critical contributions to this project’s scope and success: Big George’s Home Appliance Mart, www.big-georges.com; EverGreen Energy Savers, www.evergreenenergysavers.com; Superior Spray Solutions, www.foam123.com; and SUR Energy, www.sur.biz. Other key trade allies were G&K Floor Covering, www.gkfloors.com; and Gross Electric, www.grosselectric.com. Supporting partners were Ferguson Enterprises and The Kohler Company. If you have ever wondered about the challenges and the rewards of Green Design and Building, this is an event not to be missed!
In 2007, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the International Code Council (ICC) partnered to establish a standard definition of Green building designed exclusively for residential projects. The resulting ICC 700 National Green Building Standard™ is the first and only residential Green building rating system to receive approval from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The NGBS defines Green building for single and multifamily homes, residential remodeling projects, and site development.
For residential buildings, four threshold levels – Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Emerald – allow builders to quantify and qualify Green buildings. At the ‘Emerald’ level - the highest rating for a residential Green building - a remodeling project must comply with mandatory indoor environmental quality requirements and incorporate energy and water conservation measures resulting in reductions of 50% or greater.
This project represents a comprehensive, challenging remodel. It involves a complete redesign of the southernmost portion of the home into a master suite, additional remodeling in both the kitchen and daily entry areas, the creation of family gathering spaces in new first and second floor additions, and distinct energy and water consumption reduction upgrades to the entire home.
The new architectural design unifies the prior disjointed aspects of the home into a single, cohesive whole. The design also takes full advantage of the incredible siting of the home overlooking the Huron River to provide a new and expansive view of the river valley below. Our design concept was derived through a site sensitive, resource responsive approach. Careful analysis of the existing site embracing the window of solar opportunity led directly to the actual design of the new building form. The remodeled home now positions a new upper-story roof plane in the optimal location to harvest solar energy year-round. The two-story addition also incorporates a stack-effect passive cooling strategy, capturing the site's micro-weather patterns of constant summer-time breezes.
Our use of high performance building techniques and materials and state-of-the art renewable energy systems, in combination with energy performance retrofits on the existing home, will reduce our client’s total energy and water consumption by up to 65%, even though we will have added 1,055 additional square feet to the original 2,498 square foot home!
The event takes place on February 4th and February 5th, from 9 am till 5 pm.
Tours run every hour on the hour with the last tour beginning at 5 pm. The tours will run 45-50 minutes with 10-15 minutes for questions and answers.
Each hourly tour will be limited to a maximum of 25 people; our concerns are 1) group comfort and safety and 2) ensuring the best possible tour experience for each person, emphasizing individual attention and optimal access to project features throughout the home.
The tour is free, however advanced registration is required. Additional information is available to you at www.visiblegreenhome.com.
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