Integrated design and build solutions
On May 19 and 21, the greenLIFEproject brought Rock Band, Guitar Hero II, Live Earth and An Inconvenient Truth to the 6th grade science classes of Greenville Middle Academy in an effort to help increase climate awareness. On June 8th, Northpointe Church held a Guitar Hero III Save the Planet tournament to help fund the green efforts of Greenville Middle Academy.
2 Years in the planning… It’s been worth the wait! The greenLIFEproject is set to raise the bar on affordable housing. The new 300 O’Conner Court home is a partnership between the Greenville County Redevelopment Authority, Greenville Technical College, Aaron-Kelli Builders and GreenArch Design Group. This Energy Star certified affordable house is modeled after the ‘Erin Cottage’, a Pocket Neighborhood plan book house designed by Ross Chapin Architects of Seattle, Washington. The ‘Erin Cottage’ plan book house is $150/sqft 3 bedroom 2 bath 1,302 sqft house designed for the temperate climate of the Pacific Northwest and didn’t even have air conditioning! Our challenge was to ‘affordablize’ and acclimatize the plan for the hot humid Southeast. The result is a 4 bedroom 2 bath 1,363 sqft home that is being built for $66/sqft.
5-16-08 Construction Photos
“We have only three options: mitigation, adaptation, and suffering. We will have to do all three.” Strong words from Harvard professor John P. Holdren in a BusinessWeek article titled Battening Down the Hatches.
But what exactly is mitigation, adaptation, and suffering? According to the article mitigation is the part of being ‘green’ that we are all familiar with. It’s driving less, recycling or using compact fluorescent light bulbs. It’s the things you can do to lessen or mitigate the damage to the environment. Reducing one’s carbon footprint is a great example of mitigation.
What is adaptation? According to the article, adaptation is all the things we need to do now to prepare “for a world reshaped by climate change.” The City of Annapolis, Maryland is planning to spend $9 million to raise the city’s dock located on Chesapeake Bay. Florida is exploring ways to protect 1,300 miles of coastline. You know its serious when Washington starts spending money. According to the article, “Congress is considering nearly two dozen bills with provisions for funding research and helping communities cope.
What is suffering? We are all familiar with Hurricane Katrina and the expense of rebuilding. The article mentions the Alaska town of Newtok. Diminished sea ice that once protected the town is leaving it vulnerable to erosion by the sea. The Alaskan town of Shismaref is “literally being battered to the point of falling into the sea.” – excerpt from July 17, 2006 BusinessWeek article, Business On A Warmer Planet. These towns are being moved. This is suffering!
P.O. Box 31249
Greenville, SC 29608