SUSTAINABILITY

A home located in Greenville, South Carolina, with a focus on the incorporation of sustainable and ecological features ('20)

Client Profiling

Sage (32) and Luke (33) Emmerson are a young couple who care deeply about the environment, which is their motivation for wanting a house that is ecologically friendly. Sage is a high school art teacher who loves to draw and sketch in her free time. Luke is a commercial architect who likes to incorporate interesting uses of green energy in his designs. Their son, Elijah, is 4 years old. He loves to play with his blocks and paint pictures at the table in his playroom. They own a rabbit named Thumper. They are originally from Toledo, Ohio.

Sage's brother, James is 30 years old, stays with them for long spans during the year. He injured his knee in high school while playing football, and it has never been the same since; which is why he uses a wheelchair. His occupation is computer programmer for a video game company.

Concept Statement

The Emmerson residence is located in Greenville, South Carolina, with an incorporation of sustainable and ecological features. The ecological features are solar panels (shown on roof plan and exterior rendering). The design incorporates a coastal farmhouse style with light wood tones, a color scheme of cool tones, white stone surfaces, and various textures through furniture selections and textiles. The home is a single story layout with a split-level loft. The design is curated around ADA accommodations for Sage's brother, who uses a wheelchair. With this is mind, the public areas are ADA compliant, as well as the guest suite. The open layout creates a welcoming atmosphere that invites residents and guests into the home.

Floor Plans

Floor Plan Layout

There are three bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms, one of which is ADA compliant.
- The dashed lines are the ADA clearances.
To the right of the front door, there is a drop zone with storage space for shoes and bags of residents and guests.
The kitchen has a large island that is able to comfortably fit four bar stools.
- There is space for a French door fridge and a 48" range.
- The pantry is next to the storage closet under the stairs, in the form of three 10'-0" cabinets.
The family room has a 19'-3" H ceiling, while every other space on the first floor has a 10'-0" H ceiling.
- The loft split-level has a 8'-0" H ceiling.

Roof Plan & Site Plan

The roof structure of the home consists of three shed roofs and one flat roof. Each shed roof has a slope/pitch of 2/12", with two converging from different directions, allowing the one with solar panels to overlap the other. The roofs allows for shade over the front porch and patio areas due to their overhang.

The site plan shows the direction of north (meaning the front porch is facing northwest), the sun path, the wind direction, the area that experiences the most shade, and the correlation of noise from the road.

Exterior Rendering

Exterior Details

For ADA access to the front entryway, there is a ramp that leads up to the front door.
- The ramp has a slope of 1/12", which is the minimum allowed for an ADA ramp.
- The top surface of the handrail reaches 36", which is the median height allowed.
The exterior wood siding is painted with a low VOC paint, which gives off less of an odor and is considered more eco-friendly.
The exterior brick of the fireplace/chimney is reclaimed bricks that have been used in previous construction, meaning their use in this home is considered using a recycled material.
The front door is a HGI Timberframe door that is made with all-steel construction and has a wood finish from laminate composite rails.

Sections

Sustainable & Ecological Features

Solar panels are installed on the northwest most facing roof, since that area gets the most sunlight during the day.
There is a gray water filtration system that filters all the water that is washed down the drains to clean water that can be used once again.
The interior paint that is used everywhere throughout the house is ENVIRO-4000 because it is a high quality paint with low odor and zero VOC.
Concrete tile, which is the tile used in the bathrooms, is environmentally friendly because they are handmade and don't have to be fired in a kiln.
The hardwood flooring that is seen throughout the house is maple, since it is extremely durable and long-lasting.

Sustainable & Ecological Features

With the various choices of light fixtures throughout the home, the use of LED bulbs allows for them to be environmentally friendly.
The interior brick of the fireplace is reclaimed bricks that have been painted using a environmentally friendly method that involves the cleansing the bricks, priming them, and then using ENVIRO-4000 paint.
The door knobs are aluminum because of the metal's sustainability.
All of the fixtures and cabinet/drawer hardware throughout the house is iron because it can be infinitely recycled and not leach chemicals into the earth.
The countertops are quartz because the natural material that composes much of it comes directly from the earth.

Kitchen Elevations

Kitchen Circulation Triangle

The purpose of this diagram is to show the distance from the three of the main appliances in a kitchen to make sure they are at least 4'-0" apart but no more than 9'-0". However, sometimes this is unable to be followed due to the space allotted for the kitchen.

ADA Guest Suite Renderings

ADA Compliant Design Choices

The vanity has an area of clearance for a wheelchair user to easily have access to slide under the counter to access the sink.
The storage in the vanity is cube-like areas that don't have doors, so that there is no obstructions when accessing items under the counter.
The shower tub combo has a bench and a system of grab bars to assist the user when taking a shower or a bath.
The tile floor is a simple square concrete tile that has no bumpy texture, which allows for easy mobility of the wheelchair.
There is space for a 60" turning diameter.