Contagious Retrofit

THE CONTAGIOUS RETROFIT: GREEN REDESIGNING FOR SINGLE DWELLING

This thesis is submitted to the Department of Architecture, at Hampton University in partial fulfillment toward the degree of Master of Architecture.

By Tyshawna Antoinette Spell ARC 601-602: 5th Year Thesis Studios Professors S. Robertson and Professor C. Sanchez-del-Valle, Studio Professors Professor Shannon Chance, Thesis Advisor Spring 2009

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Acknowledgements I would like to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for giving me great spirits to produce and excel in what lies before me. I also want to thank my professors in the Hampton University Architecture Department for their full time knowledge and energy that helped me develop as an architecture graduate student. I appreciate the love and support from my family in New Jersey who have been the most loving and supportive people in my life. I would also like to give thanks to my colleagues at Hampton University for all of their support and prayers. May we all be blessed and succeed within our own expectations.

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Table of Contents Section I: Thesis Argument and Research Proposal .................................................................. 5 Abstract ................................................................................................................................... 6 Introduction: The Dream Needs Alterations ........................................................................... 8 Background: Architecture vs. Global Warming ..................................................................... 11 Reason I: Green Strategies can Become Consistent .............................................................. 17 Reason II: Green Hybrid Dwellings......................................................................................... 22 Reason III: Communicating Communities = Acceleration...................................................... 27 Design Research Proposal ...................................................................................................... 32 Section II: Thesis Design Research......................................................................................... 44 Introduction: Recap of Research ........................................................................................... 45 Design Research Agenda and Approach ................................................................................ 49 Design Research Summative Essay: Green Infrastructure Provocation ................................ 74 Conclusion.............................................................................................................................. 89

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Section I: Thesis Argument and Research Proposal.........

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A Contagious Retrofit As the American Dream promotes living farther and larger, the consumption of energy and materials increases.

Suburban single dwellings have been one of the greatest contributors to Global Warming and if this state remains, the dream will become a nightmare. One must realize that our finite resources must be used wisely.

Global Warming has caused us to rethink the way we live. Many suggestions have been given on how Architecture can assist in reducing energy and waste consumption. We must consider multiple ways of sustaining finite resources and applying this insight to what we know best, architecture.

I argue that when green systems are applied to a single dwelling a contagious reaction will begin: a hybrid style emerges, the site conditions change, and the study of this new site will be a beneficial catalyst for the neighboring homes that follow suit. This is a contagious retrofit. I propose rethinking the design of these homes by initiating architectural green systems, utilizing green spaces, and integrating shared built spaces that bring more interaction between neighbors.

To investigate this argument I searched for provocations of yielding in sustainable green systems by studying linear formations of the vegetative gardens, developing studies of green walls, while considering irrigation and water harvesting techniques that can work together as one system. This was studied using a suburban site in Newport News, VA. 6|TSpell

“Contagious Retrofit� must be considered because green vegetative infrastructure penetrating the current landscape and climbing the walls of the home will reduce global warming in multiple ways as each home begin this retrofit. Relationships will develop with a respect to ones passion for living a green lifestyle. American housing will gain a new responsive architectural style that will develop and contribute to reducing current emissions. Each retrofit will begin to take its own form that will extend new insight into how we reside in the twenty first century.

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Introduction: The Dream Needs Alterations “Each group reveals harmony, and every house gains something from its neighbor as well as the broad picture formed by natural surroundings.” 1

As Americans, we value living a lifestyle that represents success. Success in the United States of America is deeply rooted in what we call the American Dream. The American dream is to become educated, get a fantastic job, buy your dream home, and to have two kids and a dog. Well, for what I could remember, that is the image that this country’s advertisements and television consistently featured during my childhood and even today. “Freeways, shopping malls, commuters, lawns, detached homes, soccer games, mortgage payments and home fix-it jobs define the texture of life for many of us, as we go through our daily routines shaped by the suburban framework of life.”2 Yes, this is a situation for many, but not for all.

When this dream was advertised in the 1870’s, those who moved to the new suburbs were assured of an escape from the problems of poor health, social unrest, and vice associated with urban life.3 The suburbs were a getaway, a place that defined who you were, and how you deserved to live. Today the suburbs have sprawled and consumed a great amount of energy, while producing plenty of waste. The suburbs have also has a consistency when it comes to style. Journalist Charles McGrath observes: “...suburbs have become the aluminum-sided theme parks -celebrations of sameness- and nowhere else on earth can you find architecture of such awfulness and

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pretension”4 However, as he stayed he grew an appreciation. It is quite interesting how we adapt to what is new for the sake of doing what is best.

It is now 2008 and we are in a recession, people are losing their homes, and we have finite resources. The dangers of global warming are not only a discussion between environmentalists, but it is now being considered in every field of study. What was a dream is now the problem.

Suburbia must now adapt. Our wants, dreams, habits, and intentions for a great life are leading us to a disastrous future for generations to come. As an architecture student who is coming into a career of integrity, with a concern for the user’s health, safety, and welfare I asked: “How can an architect design for sustainable living?”

I agreed with Our Ecological Footprint that humans’ wasteful habits are affecting the emission rate on earth.5 As we live in larger homes, we need more materials, waste space, and use HVAC systems for spaces that are not being used. I recognize that LEED, (Leadership in Environmental Design), test new commercial buildings for sustainable design. The materials and techniques used have not been explored in many older American suburban housing neighborhoods.

Homeowners must keep up with updates on their home, and at many times fall short of what is needed today under the circumstances of global warming. It is time to educate ourselves and each other on how far an older home can go when it comes to maximizing energy conservation. For that very reason, I suggest that energy conservation can be maximized by designing dwelling so that retrofitting one will benefit neighbors if they follow suit. This is a contagious retrofit.

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Suburban homes are the first place to start because they offer space and opportunity to explore sustainable design techniques, while offering an opportunity for neighbors to work together on living and building green. Home is where we began our journey of life. Home is where we can establish a place as being ours.

In this argument, I will explore the strategies that are being used to reduce energy and material consumption in building, while considering ways it can be applied to an older residential single dwelling. I will also be exploring how the style of the home in its neighborhood will be affected. One other thing that will be considered is how effective relationships with neighbors can be, when making physical changes to ones neighborhood. This will be the root of what can make this retrofit so contagious.

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Background: Architecture vs. Global Warming “They use forty percent of the worlds energy, emit fifty percent of its greenhouse gases, they are not the cars we drive, they are the buildings where we work live and grow.”6 Architecture has made its contribution to global warming; now we must consider a better way to design.

Global warming is defined as the observed gradual increase in average global temperatures attributed to greenhouse gases that started in about 1850, coincided with the Industrial Revolution.7 Since the Industrial Revolution architecture has played its part in increasing hazardous emissions in our environment very quickly. As architects, we have designed tall buildings using materials from other countries, and we have introduced heating and cooling systems in buildings that control the environment’s conditions.

To further understand the possibility of what I am studying, I have defined some key terms. These key terms are energy conservation, sustainable design technologies, green lifestyle, and my own contagious retrofit.

Energy conservation simply means reducing the amount of energy that is being used in all contexts.8 This thesis will focus on the energy used in one’s home and within the neighborhood as a whole. Conserving energy is a way of reducing the emissions rate that creates global warming. Sustainable design techniques are creative physical solutions that can be applied to architecture.9 The goal of the solution is to create a comfortable space that does not fully depend on systems that uses excessive energy.

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I define green lifestyle as living life without consuming unnecessarily. One must always keep in mind what is necessary to live and what is not. This is a lifestyle that does not keep up with trends, but recognize the value in the things one have already and find ways to reuse it at its highest potential. This is what is intended for the retrofit of each home. Instead of building new, let us preserve what we have and make it better. A contagious retrofit is when a retrofit of a dwelling maximizes energy conservation through architectural design, so that its neighboring homes will benefit if they follow suit. This definition gives my goal, by what means it will be accomplished, and its effect.

Each of those key terms contributes to the reason I am exploring the possibility of a contagious retrofit. So what have we done so far?

Buildings are now being designed under LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, Certification. The purpose of LEED Green Building Rating System is to encourage and accelerate global adoption of sustainable green building and development practices through the creation and implementation of universally understood and accepted tools and performance criteria.10 These tools have not applied to a single dwelling home.The LEED Green Building Rating System is used to guide the

professional about designing sustainable buildings, and to teach owners and users of buildings about the value of green design.11 What are sustainable buildings? Sustainable buildings are defined as buildings that have been deliberately designed to have a minimal impact on the environment.12 What is green design? Green design is the design techniques used to create a built atmosphere that does not emit green house gases, as well as using a limited amount of the earth’s energy.13 Although this has been very

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effective in the latest building construction, we must not forget the one thing America thrives from financially, that is the single dwelling suburban home.

This is a time where extreme effects are calling to immediate and long term suggestions. A newer suggestion given in Architectural Record is “Glassy Reclads”. This involves removing the original façade and to reclad an old building with a glass curtain Glassy Reclads are used on old skyscrapers to boost their energy efficiency.14 Old skyscrapers are so old that they tend to use more energy as time progress. Gensler notes that many office buildings entering their fourth decade leak fresh air, or generate so much heat that they require extra air conditioning. So a host of structures with similar weaknesses need new skins—and fast. 15 This new skin covers the old creating a new visual façade for each building.16 This idea of changing the exterior was an idea that was started by Gensler who has completed four, and currently has another seventeen energy efficient design projects. Some argue that because the new cladding is so simple, it may strip the building of its distinctive architectural qualities.17 I argue that until a better solution comes, we must continue to move forward with anything that will reduce emissions, and that a new distinctive quality will come through this era of change.

The future of architecture is what we have started now. The future of architecture is going towards building ‘green’. All architects will have to be LEED certified, and new habits will have to develop in order to push this need into reality. The development of a green building is an architectural reaction to the crisis, not just in America, but in the world. This issue of “green” architecture will be the global stimulus

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to the current Global Warming problem. In the article “Inconvenient truths: Get Ready to Rethink what it Means to be Green” Allex Stephen argues that the planet is heating up and will be at the point of no return in a few decades, therefore making it our focus will threaten our progress on any other issues18 This green architecture will affect our design with integrity to the global issue at hand. Then we must address the local issue of building community, and interaction of people with building by understanding their culture and habits. In the book Building Green, Clarke Snell and Tim Callahan it states:

Once we remember that a house’s job is to be a conduit and filter between an exact environment and an exact group of people, our course is clear: each act of building is to grow out of the site it inhabits; it needs to work with the environment and climate that surround it; and it needs to fit its inhabitants like a glove and a house are augmentations of a human body. 19

That statement so eloquently puts what I truly believe the future of architecture must be. We must create places that react with our environment not act as separate entities.

Our environment is not a backdrop; we are weaved within one another. So becoming a conduit and filter is creating an easy passageway that can benefit the built environment as well as the natural environment. This way we can live off each other, rather than acting as separate pieces that do not have a need for each other, because it is obvious that we do.

From the statistics presented by Steven Alex, one cannot believe that the lifestyle that we have been living will be able to continue. Things will have to change 14 | T S p e l l

radically to start the battle.20 The key word is "start". The options that were given by Steven Alex were life changing for many and yet we are still not guaranteed changes that will be seen in our own lifetime. This reminds me of a person going on a diet after having eaten all their life what they wanted, then when all the weight is gained and health is in trouble, the diet starts. But before one can see results one becomes discouraged, and goes back to old habits. This is not speaking for everyone, but it is something that happens psychologically with many. In a scenario such as sustainability, dieting, and others; we must work in groups. We will need diligence and dedication for the rest of our lives, as well as the lives of our children. Education and updated information needs to be extending to the masses and become as familiar as the Star Spangled Banner. This can only be done when there are facts that prove the issues of global warming and the solutions began to become consistent.

Griffin Burgh and John Wilson argue that false information has been given about the issue of global warming. In this text it was stated that "The widespread disregard for the factual truth has resulted in the promotion of several popular but questionable assumptions regarding our energy options for the twenty first century."21 Doing research to find ways to fight against global warming can be very difficult because of the different views involved. Many disagree with its causes. I suggest that we find ways to counteract what has happened since the Industrial Revolution, to make sure it does not get worse. Although there is no agreement on the main causes, and exactly what will come of global warming, the steps towards better living conditions seem to be consistent. Burgh and Wilson state:

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Increasing utilization of environmentally friendly alternatives such as wind, solar, nuclear energy, or the conversion of coal into clean fuel, and employing clean processing technologies represent a step in the right direction, but the scale of the substitution challenge is so large that a return to energy independence seems impossible for the next century.22

Although the numbers are staggering, and it seems to be an endless problem, we must be proactive in every aspect that we can. The cities have been a great solution to the problem, and we are proactively working to get them at that their best. I have decided to analyze a suburban home, which has a high energy use with its aggressive heating and cooling systems, and evaluate the problem and give potential solutions and ways of implementation.

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Reason 1: Green Strategies can Become Consistent When retrofitting a suburban home one may get advice such as: change your light bulbs, get some solar panels, and invest in energy star appliances. These are definitely good ways to start, but it is not the way to maximize energy conservation. We can take it much further. As architects and engineers have explored sustainable design techniques that are being practiced in new built environments, one must also consider single dwellings that will need upgrades every ten to fifteen years anyhow. I can imagine the gossip and inquiry in the neighborhood when the building envelope and landscape begins to transform. When one house is done it will give opportunity for others to learn and began to invest.

The strategies that have caught my attention are double envelopes, green infrastructure for storm water, and front lawn mini farms. Each technique represents a different part of what can make a home work at its best. Double envelopes affect the exterior of the home, the storm water system affects the infrastructure and mini-farms affect the residential landscape.

The ‘double envelope’ is a system that has been practiced on commercial buildings starting with the Hooker's office building designed by HOK and Canon Associates. 23This double skin wall of the Hookers office Building was constructed in 1983.24 The outer wall was double glazed and the inner wall was single glazed; they were separated by five feet.25 The blue green iron oxide glass on the exterior maximizes

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light penetration and limits solar gain.26 Another example of the double skin wall is Genzyme Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts designed by Behnisch and Partner, which was rated platinum by LEED Building Rating System.27 This building glazing worked opposite of Hookers office building. The outer wall has single glazing while the inner wall had double glazing. The double glazing on the inner wall provides an optimum thermal barrier, while the single glazing on the outer wall provides a buffer space.28 From the Hooker building that was designed in 1983 to the Genzyme Center in 2003, there has not been consistency in this technique. Very little buildings have been designed using the double envelope although it has proved to be a great insulator. So how does this apply to a home?

Let us go back to 1977 when the double envelope house was designed by Lee Porter Butler and Tom Smith. These architects used a two shell concept that was initially theoretical.29 This concept was one that created a circulation pattern that began in the green room, and went up towards the clerestory windows back around to the north wall and back down to the crawl space. Eighty percent of its thermal needs were generated by the sun.30 Twelve inches of airspace separated the roof from the ceiling, the north wall from a separate interior wall and the floor from the earth fill beneath.31 On this house the outer wall was the load bearing wall, unlike many of the curtain wall structures we design today. This double envelope created an R-value of 30. This R value is very high considering some of our strongest insulation materials only guarantee us an R-value of 18. The R value is the measure of the thermal transfer’s resistance.32 Why is this double envelope important? This is a feature that can insulate older homes, while

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creating a green room which gives plenty of options. Using glass cladding will change the face of a home and may even change the way we live within the space. This may be refreshing to some and may be uncomfortable to others, but its design must be tested in this contagious retrofit.

Now that we have discussed the building envelope let us discuss the front landscape. Many have started gardens in a corner of their yard, or an area of their backyard, but Kip Nash from Boulder Colorado has taken it further and has started an agricultural business. Since 2006 Kip Nash has uprooted his front and backyard and has done the same to the lots of eight neighbors.33 Some neighbors are uncomfortable with what the front lawns are turning into, and the disturbing smell of the manure. Kip starts his day by driving the school bus at 5 a.m., completes his shift, spends the day planting and watering his yard farms, and then stores the seedlings in the greenhouse behind his house. 34 This greenhouse that is used by Kip Nash can be the same green house that is created by using as a double envelope of a home, therefore having this mini-farm will give great use to the idea of the double envelope acting as the greenhouse for the idea of the contagious retrofit. So what is this mini-farm about? Having a mini-farm not only helps to create our own fresh produce, but it is an opportunity to sell to local consumers, while saving energy from traveling from a farm that is at farther away.

Roxanne Christensen has been contributing ways to make this happen to anyone anywhere, she calls it ‘spin farming’. Spin stands for small plot intensive.35 Spin makes it simple for someone to start a farm on a small piece of land. It offers the opportunity to rent land. Roxanne’s Partner in Spin Farming, Wally Satzewich, operates Wally’s Urban

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Market garden which is a multi-location sub acre urban farm. It is dispersed over 25 residential backyard plots in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.36 While resources are finite, land surrounding single dwelling residential can be put spin farming to use. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that nearly a third of all residential water uses go to landscaping; why not use it to grow food instead?37 Considering Spin Farming in a residential neighborhood would definitely change the streetscape, and get people involved in creating resources for their neighborhood services.

On the issue of water, storm water techniques have been highly considered when it comes to infrastructure of sustainable design. Green Infrastructure has been adopted by many areas and has been helpful with controlling storm water. This technique requires neighborhood involvement for it to work successfully. Green infrastructure is defined by Steve Wise as the interconnected network of open spaces and natural areas --greenways, wetlands, parks, forest preserves, and native plant reserves, and native plant vegetation—that naturally manages storm water, reduces the risk of floods, captures pollution, and improves water quality.38 How is this related to the single dwelling? Certainly this network can be extended by green roofs and tree planting. A green network can also connect homes and the use of its green roofs.

Communities around the US are expanding their green infrastructure practices to embrace entire neighborhoods and cities. Washington D.C. and Portland Oregon are investing funding to green roofs.39 A green roof is a roof covered with vegetation. Green roofs can be used to provide rainwater detention or retention, to increase the thermal resistance and capacitance of a building roof. Green roofs also reduce the urban heat

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island effect and to provide green space for animals and people on what would otherwise be a hard surfaced area.40 There are two types of green roofs: extensive and intensive. Extensive green roofs are shallow and limit the type of planting that is used.41 Extensive green roofs work on slopes up to thirty five degrees, although slopes above twenty degrees require a baffle system to prevent soil slump.42 Intensive green roofs has deeper a deeper soil base and can hold all kinds of planting.43 The intensive green roof is not one that will be considered for a retrofit for a single dwelling because it requires the strength of a larger commercial building. The extensive green roof will work well to accept the storm water, as well as increasing thermal resistance. The green roof will also give opportunity to create what was once the front lawn before the mini-farm, on top of the home.

The research indicates the three green systems that were described can be beneficial when retrofitting a single dwelling, but it will change the face of the neighborhood while providing opportunities to reconnect to the natural environment.

New habits will form through the use of these systems such as farming, roof lounging, and looking at views of the neighborhood through the glazed double wall green house solarium.

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Reason 2: Green Hybrid Dwellings What do I mean by green hybrid dwelling? We know green represents ways in which we practice sustainability. Webster’s dictionary defines hybrid as consisting of diverse components. Dwelling is the place in which we reside, home. So a green hybrid dwelling represents a home that integrates green systems and materials with existing building construction and materials to create an architectural design that represents this contagious retrofit. This home wants to benefit from the features of a new sustainable house design, but will not be built from scratch. Such a transformation can bring interest and controversy to those who seek traditional housing design. One must first compare what has been consistent in the traditional design of the American dream house, to then consider the design of newer sustainable homes. After those comparisons we must consider the current retrofits, and determine whether the integration was a successful one. Understanding each will begin to give clues as to how far this green hybrid dwelling can go.

The American Dream House established itself with the Bungalows of 1920’s, to the Cape Cod Cottages in the 1940’s, to the Ranch House in the 1950’s, to the Split level house in the 1960’s.44 Each of these homes made changes to its space from the inside, but materials and common shapes had not change that much. The hip roof is incorporated in each style. All of the houses required a fireplace. All had shingled roofs.

One thing that started with the Bungalow that did not continue is the porch. I contend that when the porch was lost communication between neighbors took more effort.

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The Bungalow was an inexpensive one and a half story cottage with pleasant front porch and an easy open plan, the bungalow was a very livable house and surprisingly commodious for its size.45 Cape Cod Cottages, introduced by Beaux Arts architects for individual clients became the first assembly line house of the mass subdivision, its parts clicking together in programmed sequence, like parts of an automobile.46 This was a house that was easily mass produced; this house still represents suburbia today. The Ranch House came just in time for the returning veterans of World War II. The Ranch house was sold for as little as 8,000 to 10,000 with no down payment.47 After the Depression, in the prosperous Eisenhower years, the split level house was born.48 These homes are shaping the suburban neighborhoods and has expanded into larger square footage today, but what will happen when brick, shingles, and hip roofs begin to transform into glass facades, flat green roofs, and useful farmland?

New sustainable homes get a fresh start to be designed using sustainable techniques, although I argue that sustainability is truly accomplished through reusing what we already have. These sustainable homes initially incorporate green design which begins to look different than the American home that many of us reside in today. A new sustainable home was built in Boston, Massachusetts, designed by Maryann Thompson.

This house was organized on the site to take advantage of the daily paths of the sun.49 Their advantage of the daily paths of the sun is something that will be considered when retrofitting the traditional home. Although the house cannot move, the way the facades are used to absorb the sun’s energy will be beneficial. All rooms of this house receive 23 | T S p e l l

light on two sides and the combined living room, dining room, and kitchen area receive light on four sides with the use of clerestory, enabling the sun to always be an ever changing presence in the main body of the house.50 Natural lighting helps to conserve energy and using clerestory windows will benefit traditional homes. Natural light coming through spaces that were previously lit by electricity will give its user a different, yet natural experience.

The sustainable features on this home include a more insular north façade, while the south façade opens the house to the site and the sun.51 This can be accomplished in the retrofit by making sure the north façade is insulated well and making use of open glass facades on the south side. All rooms use cross ventilation.52 For cross ventilation to work successfully in the traditional home, the floor plan must open up. This will create opportunity to use rooms in creative ways. Ultimately there are a few things that can be used in a retrofit that currently benefit new sustainable homes, although it may be a costly upgrade.

One example of a retrofit was done in Mottingham, South East London, by ECD Architects. According to PassiveHaus-standards, it was recognized that the average household can save up to 25 per cent of its annual carbon emissions through energy efficiency, and retrofitting is one way to achieve this.53 ECD put their goal extensively higher with the goal of achieving at let three times the conservation. "This Hyde Housing Association property is a nondescript brick terraced house built in the 1930s, with a flatroofed rear extension added in the 1980s.”54 The project adheres to PassivHaus-

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standard U-values of 0.15W/m[sup2]K for external walls and 0.1W/m[sup2]K for the roof, and has an air tightness value of 3.55 The term 'PassivHaus' refers to a specific construction standard for residential buildings in UK which have excellent comfort conditions in both winter and summer.56 These principles can be applied not only to the residential sector as the name suggests, but also to commercial, industrial and public buildings.57 This retrofit included solar thermal panels, breathable multi-foil insulation, photovoltaic paneling, LED lighting, rainwater harvesting, and passive-haus standard windows. This house was started in October of this year and will be a two year project.

This architecture firm does refurbishing projects, and is a strong initiator in green design. This retrofit gives us insight on what this architect is considering to achieve 80% conservation. These are options that can be helpful in the contagious retrofit that I propose, but I am interested in the systems that will affect the architecture the most.

Another example of a retrofit done in Louisville, Colorado; was improved in 2006. Its retrofit included; energy audit (an assessment of how much energy your home consumes combined with suggestions on how you can make your home more energyefficient), 4.7 kW grid-tied PV system, flat-plate solar collector for domestic water heating with tankless high-efficiency electric boiler for backup, a ground source heat pump, evaporative cooler, CFLs (A modern light bulb with integral ballast using a fraction of the electricity used by a regular incandescent light bulb),programmable thermostats, separable upstairs/downstairs zoned heating, Energy Star appliances, use of clotheslines for drying, and ceiling fan in the living room58

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All of the items listed besides the clothes line are technological ways in which a home can benefit, which can be highly supportive, but this does not change how the older exterior affects our emissions rates. The architecture must undergo the make-over also. This home was fairly new, built in 1990; its retrofit took place in 2006.59 This house involved multiple contractors but no architect. The integration of new design techniques did not happen in this retrofit.

It is important to consider what can happen with this green hybrid design because it gives the home an opportunity to use systems that does not involve intense technology to operate at its best. Technology is very helpful, but it has its problems also. The green systems I propose takes a dwelling further, so that it engage in a relationship with its natural environment and create a working relationship with earth itself.

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Reason 3: Communicating Communities = Acceleration We have heard sayings like, “two heads are better than one�. Working in numbers gets the job done. This was proved in communities who came together to proactively create their green community. What is interesting is that two examples of these communities were in Colorado. Through research of energy efficiency I have noticed that Boulder County in Colorado has been very effective in greening their city.

Techniques have been used to create a place that is quite different from what these neighbors were use to. These communities are Harmony Village and Smart Grid City, which are both places in Colorado, and North Street Cohousing in Daly, California.

Harmony Village used a technique where the people who were interested in making a new community that was green, would come together in meetings that incorporated creative ways to make design decisions. Their participation method involved understanding ways that their lifestyle can change to become one that can be sustainable. Harmony Village was a dream of Architect Matt Worswick and his wife Linda, in the early 1990’s.60 Matt Worswick also designed other sustainable communities. His firm is called Synergy Design and he focuses on the design of energy efficient and environmentally responsible residences, including cohousing communities, custom homes, remodels and additions.61 Matt defines synergy as the exciting chemistry that can happen between the homeowner and the designer, which enhances the effectiveness of both parties.62 Synergy goes back to the two heads are better than one theory. This technique that Warswick uses has been very effective in creating a 27 | T S p e l l

knowledgeable relationship of what is needed to be sustainable and how participation can assist in it getting done cost effectively.

The Harmony Village had much frustration when trying to find land, but then they found what they would call a gift from the cohousing Gods. They found land that was only eight blocks from downtown.63 It was now time to build. Step by step they created design criteria for homes and landscapes to guide their thinking as they cocreated the features of their community.64 Harmony Village team agreed that the style of architecture they wanted was south-western.65 This was not a choice of sustainability, but just an agreed aesthetic.

What was specifically interesting and valuable about Harmony Village is how they would come together to build for their community while saving thousands. So much was learned while working, getting to know each other, and respecting the place they live because they had physically put in work. Their first project was called the tiling cooperative, where they tiled each other floors together one house at a time.66 The tiling initiative started a new community custom where they would take off their shoes when entering each other’s home.67 Another cooperative project was thinning a mountain forest owned by the project superintendent in order to harvest logs for the rustic front porches, this project saved 6,000. 68 They did landscaping themselves and saved 6,000 and bricked their center walking area over a summer. This project was complete in May 1997 and immediately received the National Building Innovation Award presented by the assistant secretary for housing.69

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Smart Grid City, Boulder Colorado, had a different technique. Since the smart grid program started they were able to produce 590.7 fewer pounds of carbon.70 Smart Grid is using sustainable technology that will exist as a network that everyone will benefit from. "We like to think of Smart Grid as bringing the world of Thomas Edison together with the world of Bill Gates," said Ray Gogel of Xcel Energy, a utility company involved in the system's installation.71 Soon, 50,000 homes in Boulder will soon be decked out with the latest in environmentally-friendly, energy-saving technology -including solar panels, electric cars and, for some, a specialized heating, cooling and lighting system -- all of which will be integrated into a monitoring system that reports the home's carbon footprint to the homeowner.72 Smart grid will be very effective and be able to give an idea of how much energy is being used. This type of technological advance can fulfill awareness to consumption.

University of Colorado Chancellor G.P. "Bud" Peterson and his wife, Val, were the first to let Xcel transform their home. Xcel energy put solar panels on the house, gave them a new smart meter and a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle that literally plugs in to their house.73 His wife Val states "I pretty much get on my computer, tell my house and my car what to do and then I walk away," she said. "My solar panels are talking to my house, are talking to my car, and are talking to my house. It's a beautiful system." This system is very intelligent and has created a way to tell people how to conserve energy.

This system excludes architecture. Is this system proving that architecture does not have to change to become more efficient? I disagree, newer homes are able to react to technology without as much concern for changes of their wall systems, but older homes 29 | T S p e l l

built thirty years or more are using old systems with high emissions, and that must be eliminated.

North Street Co-Housing was not just technologically driven, it was community driven. North Street had a goal of developing a common house and other facilities that meet the priorities and needs of the evolving community.74 Cohousing can be defined as a living arrangement that combines private living quarters with common dining and activity areas in a community whose residents share in tasks such as childcare.75

As of June 2007, we have grown to 19 houses by a process of adding one house at a time as they become available. We have taken down the fences between 17 houses and integrated the backyard landscaping. We also added two houses from across the street. The ownership structure is very diverse - some houses are owned by community residents, some by absentee landlords, and others as partnerships of (former) tenants in the community.76

What I find interesting about this community is its use of in-between spaces. N. Street cohousing addresses the issues of increase population and continues to add homes in spaces available. All of the suburban fences are gone. Since the first two houses were joined in 1986, the community has grown to 50 adults and 14 kids.77 This community promotes sharing space and doing everything together.

All three of these communities prove how sustainability is a group effort and a whole community can maximize its energy efficiency. The green technique that was

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most effective that can work in a contagious retrofit is the technique used for cohousing. Making shared spaces will bring the community together while sharing greener ways to live. This will then create an atmosphere that supports my argument which states:

“Energy conservation can be maximized by designing dwelling so that retrofitting one will benefit neighbors if they follow suit. This is a contagious retrofit.�

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Design Research Proposal What I have claimed does not give detail to what type of retrofit is taking place.

Now that the perimeters have been established; there is an understanding of what the retrofit consists of. This is a retrofit that has specific components that will contribute to creating a comfortable home that lives off nature, while feeding nature as well.

Through the research of the green systems, understanding how new design will affect the old design, and neighborhood participation; there is now a strong base of how this retrofit will indeed began and then be unstoppable. I argued that energy conservation can be maximized by designing dwelling so that retrofitting one will benefit its neighbor if they follow suit. It is now understood that three main components established through reasoning has built a recipe for making these dwellings efficient, therefore maximizing energy. The application of the three components; green systems (double envelope, farming, green roof, green wall, and water catchment system), hybrid design solutions, and communal activity, will be what can be applied to make an architecturally green retrofit of a dwelling. I stress that because the facades and structure integrated with nature will form the future of architecture for not only new, but applied to the old. This retrofit is not just an application of technology, or exterior buffers, but it is a chance to renew the relationship between ground, structure, and the building envelope.

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I now claim that when green systems are applied to a single dwelling a contagious reaction will begin: a hybrid style emerges, the site conditions change, and the study of this new site will be a beneficial catalyst for the neighboring homes that follow suit. This is a contagious retrofit that maximizes energy conservation. I have come to this conclusion by understanding the connection of how each piece opens the opportunity for the next to be beneficial and supportive. Each evidentiary component researched provides a link that benefits the next. Let’s began with the mini-farm, the mini-farm provides an opportunity for neighbors to come together and learn a new way to use the land that they own. It provides an income, food, and land that are able to absorb and recycle water. Hence, neither land nor water gets wasted. The connector to the mini-farm is the double envelope; this space provides a green house for planting and holding vegetables grown in the yard, while creating a buffer space that holds heat and provides a house with a comfy atmosphere in the winter. In the summer this same envelope will use its openings and shades to offer vertical circulation. With the use of a green room to store crops it opens up the house to views. These views are what will make neighbors aware of each other; it makes another layer that extends itself to a less private atmosphere before being outside.

The connection to the double envelope is the opportunity to create other ways to keep the house warm while enhancing water retention and detention by using green roofs and green walls. The green roof, wall, and mini-farm need water so the water catchment system will circulate the water while tying in all the benefits of these systems working together. These systems may support each other, but they are not enough.

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To be contagious and effective, the present style of the home must be recognized and must easily show a smooth integration while having an architectural aesthetic appeal. One will not want their home to follow suit, if their home is going to look worst than what it had been initially. The home must generate an inspired sense of built materials knitted with nature. How will I know when that is accomplished? That can only be accomplished by understanding how materials can work together, designing and sketching different options will began to show whether they can become cohesive. I believe that this is accomplished when nature is no longer a backdrop but a ‘house hugger’, becoming one whole and using each other to survive.

The portions of my claim that will be studied through design are green systems applied to a dwelling, emerging hybrid design, and site condition changes used as a catalyst. These three areas will be studied as each additional green system is applied.

Once each one is explored, it will be studied by design when all green systems are working together. It is understood that the structure may be affected, so studies of the process of what will stay, what will go, and what will be added to the home, will be beneficial to exploring this transformation.

The claim is a full design research claim that can only be tested by application and reacting to each step. Each component will give clues on how the next will work if identified properly during the design. I will be using multiple forms of media as a guide in exploring what is truly happening on this site and in what ways they can support each other. This design proposal is one that begins with ground, moves to rooftop, and then

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extends out to neighbors. Its contagious outbreak must be studied the same way I intend for it to take place.

Through this research by design, I imagine nature having its own way with dwelling while communities take interest in a green lifestyle. Once these principles are adopted I expect it to continue all over the globe. It is an architectural solution to the problem of global warming. It is also a chance to enhance what we have before it is too late. Each single dwelling has a different style that varies from community to community, but it gives architects an opportunity to adapt every style of home, and prove their personal design competence. Architects will no longer have a fear of becoming obsolete and have a chance to offer something that contributes to a bigger picture.

Objects to be Studied I will be studying a small street of single dwelling in Newport News VA. These dwellings are fairly new being built in the 90’s. All of them consume great amounts of energy and waste tons of water through there upkeep and household needs. One of these dwellings is owned by my classmate Bruce Firestone. I will document analysis of what is currently taking place at his home, and how it relates to the site. I will also be doing a study of the homes that are neighboring. In this study there will be more site analysis to assist me in the design research as well as material investigation. All of the original site studies will take place during winter break 2008.

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During the semester after all initial investigation is done, I will study the minifarm and understanding how it can work on Bruce’s yard. I will investigate ways this has been done to enhance the relationship between street curb, lawn, and house. Through the investigation I will create a mini-farm prototype that will represent Bruce’s new yard. It is important that this study prove its benefits not only financially and ecologically, but also aesthetically. I will also study the double envelope and consider where it is most applicable to Bruce’s home. The double envelope will be studied by understanding ways a glass façade can be incorporated with the initial house design.

Green roofs will be studied next. The roof that is on this home must be understood structurally. The structure will began to give hints to what can change and what will not change. The location of the green roof is preferably one that can be accessed by users of the home. That will be a goal that drives the green roof’s location. I consider that to be important because the users will no longer lounge in their front yards due to the produce growing in the front and back, so the green roof gives opportunity to have that same feeling, but literally on a much higher level.

The next study will be green wall. The green wall will be a great contributor to insulation and must fall along the north side of the home. This will create a strong barrier for the northerly wind, while not getting too much sun exposure, yet enough light to grow. This study will determine how much green wall is too much. The hybrid design must be kept in mind to make that decision. From there I will study how the water catchment system will work to connect each green system and house uses. These

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green systems studies constantly incorporate how it will affect the new hybrid style of the home.

As each piece is designed and applied I must consider the step that came before hand, making sure that the design of the next system is applicable right along with the system that was previously applied. They will not necessarily be studied all at once, rather each piece will be added and must adapt to the last piece, unless the last design solution cannot work with the next green system because of its location or structure.

Next I will study the site changes; I will be looking for clearer wind patterns, new views, green infrastructure line up, and any other parts that may not be as obvious but beneficial. These sight studies will be used to began this process again on the next home.

Approach Week 1 Using sketch vignettes of this neighborhood, street elevations, and physical models generated during the Christmas break, I will began the semester by studying the idea of the mini-farm. For ideas to generate by using specific information I will be drawing some landscape sketches. These sketches will explore the idea of what can happen in the yard with these fruits and vegetables. Being sensitive to the space needed and its linear form used so one may walk through to pick the produce, I will diagram ways this can happen using the landscape sketches that was drawn simply by placing trace over the drawings and drawing routes that are logical. I will then study this in plan

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view, then elevation view to understand ground with faรงade. The farm will then be applied to the original site study models and documented.

Week 2 The green roof studies will be applied to structural models of the house, these models will inform me of what is needed and what load bearing walls are most important. This model will help me construct a new structural model that is ready for the green roof. Next I must draw sections and consider how the accessibility to the roof will affect the household. I will question, what is the best way to enter the green roof?

Next there will be synthesis plan drawings including green roofs and farm. These drawings will show me where roof and ground is lining up in ways to benefit water. The green roof will then be applied to the initial site study model and documented.

Week 3 The green wall will be built and applied to the site study model to where it can be moved and played with. I will take photographs of how it is affecting the style of the house while drawing elevations that come to mind, by trying different solutions on the model. Once one is found to be effective, then it will be applied to the original site model with the first two green systems. This will now be the time to stop and draw elevations of the changes that are made. To see how the materials are working together clearer, there will also be a computer generated model rendering that brings it all together. This information will then be documented.

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Week 4 Next I will create diagrams of how the water catchment system will work while noting places in which the system is exposed. These are the places in which will give me room to bring the hybrid design together using green columns or any other details that will take it further. In those exposed places I will do a digital model of the water catchment system with the original digital model and explore solutions. These new design pieces that enclosed the water catchment system will consider water spills and any other precautions, while using materials that will benefit the hybrid design.

Week 5 I will create a drawing of the site that now exists from the new retrofit of Bruce’s home.

This model will be examined and drawn in plan noting considerable site changes due to his retrofit. I will then generate a 3D animation showing this transformation

Week 6-10 A new site analysis diagram and model will be created to specify changes and the steps used in week 1-5 will began again in the same pattern.

Criteria The criteria for week one is to understand what it takes to start this process beginning with the uprooting and cleaning of the soil, to creating a landscape design that functions well. I will have to understand each step and apply the solution chosen from the diagrams and drawings made that were the most effective. I would like to

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make at least six options to choose from with each option being distinctively different, so I can cover a broad range of what is possible in the yard area.

Week two criteria involve structure models, I have to create a structural model of the house to find the best place to change the roof from sloped to flat or add a structural grid to carry the load of the green roof. The house will conclude its own possibilities. I will be choosing the green roof’s location by understanding what is best for the structure and also if it is easily accessible by the inhabitants.

Week three criteria will be the ultimate test of the hybrid design; the green wall will be determined by whether it is on a northern façade, as well as its cohesiveness with the original house design. There will be multiple tests and drawings used to find out how the facades design can be carried out at its best.

Week four criteria is to create a water catchment system that reuses the rainwater and circulates it to the system that waters the yard, the green wall, and is use within the home. The main concern is how it moves about in this new retrofit and how it can happen without being exposed. Once there is a main circulation path for the water, the architectural elements of this new design must be embracive and hold the water systems discreetly.

Week 5 criteria is to document the changes in many ways, one including a digital animation. This will show where the retrofit starts and how the house changes right before it becomes contagious.

Week 6-10 criteria involves taking clear note of sight changes. These site changes must expose new design decisions that create the scenario previously followed. The

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mini-farm must be free to connect with the neighbor’s yard previously done, this needs to happen to create a continuous field that makes friendly neighbor interaction or partnerships. The green wall might work differently but must still uphold the same standards as the first home. The green roof to the second home should give some clear view of the first home’s green roof; this is where neighbors can interact with each other from roof to roof. The green roof will act as their new lawn, it should be used more frequently in a social manner than previously. The water catchment system will not be fully determined from the sight conditions, this system will be determined from the homes form, and will follow the rain water and where it naturally begins to accumulate in order to help guide a new circulative diagram that recycles the water. The same embracive design decision to keep this system unexposed will be applied, just as the initial house was considered and designed. When these two homes sit together, they must prove to be developed enough to where the next house looks lost without the same kind of retrofit, this element will be one that is of opinion, but must spark the sense of curiosity of what if I joined the new crowd of retrofits. The 3D animation will then be continued showing the retrofit extending to this site.

Scale This project will discover how much a single dwelling can be changed without destructing its main structural components. To understand this, I must understand how each home is brought together and where the load bearing walls lie. This will create a clear diagram of what can and cannot happen. The exploration will cause for a green

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roof to placed well to hold dead and live loads. The structure is very important and I will not be testing the exact amount it can hold, but I will make an educated decision on whether a wider beam is needed for a span, or whether the house will take on an extra column.

The house will become contagious to the neighbor on the right side, the neighbor to the left has an extreme buffer between itself and Bruce’s home, and it is oriented on the street adjacent to the street in which I am focusing. I may give a touch of what can happen as a scenario but the depth will happen with the home to the right.

The home on the right embraces the corner. As far as the homes across the street, they will be minimally developed as a scenario also within a conclusive state of the project to show what it might be like, if it were to continue.

The two homes that will receive the retrofit will cover exterior effects more than interior. Assuming the house would want to upgrade to energy star, and other technological systems, the area can be controlled to conserve. My focus is on the building envelope integrated with landscape. I will understand the steps of spin farming from the cleaning of the soil to the growth of the crops. This is an in-depth exploration to help me understand the time table of this retrofit. It will also give hints of how far this mini-farm can go when it comes to designing its landscape. I will also calculate the square foot to determine how much this household can make annually according Roxanne Christensen. Although some of these details are not architectural, they are a base of what can make this retrofit contagious. The worldly conditions give opportunity for extreme changes like this to prosper.

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The green wall will be designed showing planting, but there is no specificity to what type of plant should grow on the green wall, I will be trying a few combinations of things but it will ultimately be user’s choice. They key component in the green wall is finding a way it can be put onto the wall using its metal framing, and what is the best place for it to be located without becoming an ugly disturbing piece that looks like one just placed it on the wall with no consideration of architectural aesthetics. As these things are discovered they will be documented with a written piece stating, in journal form; what is working, how I arrived to the solution, what does not work well, and whether it should no longer be considered. This is what I propose for a contagious retrofit to come to life.

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Section II: Thesis Design Research.........

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Introduction: Recap of Research When green systems are applied to a single dwelling a contagious reaction will begin: a hybrid style emerges, the site conditions change, and the study of this new site will be a beneficial catalyst for the neighboring homes that follow suit while conserving maximum energy.

Green strategies used on contemporary architecture projects must be considered when retrofitting an older home. One strategy that can be applied is The Double Envelope. The Double Envelope House was the first house that applied such a technique. The double envelope was discovered through a concept that created high insulation, but was not continually practiced on houses over time. It was designed by Lee Porter Butler and Tom Smith and constructed in 1977. Hookers Office Building (Niagara, NY)

was the first commercial building that introduced the double envelope. Designed by HOK and Canon Associates and constructed in 1983. Today we see it more often for example the Genzyme Center (Cambridge, MA) shows that we are practicing the double envelope as a sustainable technique but once again its applied to commercial buildings.

Genzyme Center was designed by Behnisch and Partner an rated platinum by LEED Building Rating System when constructed in 2003.

Another green strategy that is applicable are Mini-farms. Kip Nash (Boulder, CO)

disturbed his neighborhood by farming on front lawns. He spends the day planting and watering his yard farms and stores the seedlings in the greenhouse behind his house. Roxanne Christensen’s book and practice of Spin-farming proves that this can be economical and self

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efficient. Spin-farming makes it simple for someone to start a farm on a small piece of land. It also offers the opportunity to rent land.

Green infrastructure brings together a system of natural vegetative structures which has high benefits. Green Roofs began to connect the green surfaces needed to create joint vegetative planes. The roof is covered with vegetation and provides rainwater retention and detention. It also increases the thermal resistance and capacitance of a building roof while reduces the urban heat island effect. Let’s not forget that it even provides green space for animals and people on what would otherwise be a hard surfaced area. One other joint plane is the vertical green wall. A vertical green wall is a direct connector from green roof to lawn for a more sustainable infrastructure. It cools the building significantly, is a water absorber, and has aesthetic appeal. This can be applied in panels with choice of species. Then one should consider bioswales to control the water runoff while removing silt and pollution from surface runoff water. Bioswales have a drainage course filled with vegetation or compost that slows down the flow of rainwater runoff. The Bioswales will give opportunity tomake use of a good water catchment system that will recycle the storm water. This will complete a strong green infrastructure. This system accumulates storm water in storage in preparation for future water usage.

A Retrofit on a home gives opportunity to create a hybrid architectural style that can represent the sustainable housing transformation. The American Dream House is where consumption began, so it is best to recognize them and consider how far the transformation can go. The homes that represented the American dream are the Bungalow of 1920, the Cape Cottage of 1940, the Ranch of1950, and the Split Level of 1960. We must consider applying things we see in ne sustainable homes. Geothermal 46 | T S p e l l

Residence (Boston, MA), designed by MaryAnn Thompson, helps recognize sustainable techniques that can transfer and develop in the retrofit. This house was organized on site to take advantage of the sun. All rooms of this house receive light on two sides and the combined living room, dining room, and kitchen area receive light on four sides with the use of clerestory. This home has an insular north faรงade, while the south faรงade opens the house to the site and the sun.

Brick Terrace House Retrofit (Mottingham, London) shows how a retrofit has taken place and but not much difference is made to the exterior. This is a retrofit by ECD Architects in Mottingham London. This Hyde Housing Association property is a nondescript brick terraced house built in the 1930s The project adheres to PassiveHausstandards which uses techniques very similar to LEED. Contemporary green strategies used in a retrofit can create a sustainable lifestyle can be shared by more than one home, which will save money and energy while building relationships. One can see this in Harmony Village (Golden, CO) whom developed their own sustainable lifestyle together through meetings. This community was designed by Matt and Linda Worswick whom designed other sustainable communities. Their firm is called Synergy Design and focuses on the design of energy efficient and environmentally responsible residences. These community members had meetings that incorporated creative ways to make design decisions.

Smart Grid City (Boulder, CO), designed by Xcel Energy, uses technology only; while inhabitants still have the choice of not reaching out to each other to become sustainable.

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Since the smart grid program started they were able to produce 590.7 fewer pounds of carbon.

50,000 homes in Boulder will soon be decked out with the latest in environmentallyfriendly, energy-saving technology. This system is very intelligent and has created a way to tell people how to conserve energy. A community that does not use technology is North Street Cohousing.

North Street Cohousing defines community through an open house relationship. North Street had a goal of developing a common house and other facilities that meet the priorities and needs of the evolving community. Since 2007 this community has grown to 19 houses by a process of adding one house at a time as they become available. They have taken down the fences between 17 houses and integrated the backyard landscaping. Their ownership structure is very diverse. This community promotes sharing space and doing everything together.

I will be investigating whether the integration of the double envelope and green infrastructure will bring a cohesive hybrid design into discovery. This retrofit is of high importance because the current techniques, tried by each individual homeowner, have brought an aesthetic appeal that is under par for neighborhood streetscapes . With a clear understanding of the benefit of the green systems discussed, they must be applied with site conditions being its ammunition.

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Research Proposal The Contagious Retrofit: GREEN REDESIGNING FOR SINGLE DWELLING

By Tyshawna A Spell Hampton University Architecture Department Prof. C. Sanchez + S. Robinson

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Stages 1 Green Systems Application FARMING VEGETATIVE WALL GREEN ROOF

2 Glazing the Sunny Side DOUBLE ENVELOPE SRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT

3 Hybrid Design Development SYNTHESIS OF SYSTEMS AESTHETIC DETAILS DEVELOPED

4 Site Conditions Exposes Extended Development SITE ANALYSIS PROPOSED CHANGES FOR NEXT HOME SCHEMATICS OF OPTIONS 50 | T S p e l l

Site 452 Burnham Place Newport News, VA 23606 United States of America North America This two story home with a garage makes us of a small porch and a connected garage. This home’s front façade faces west while the back façade faces east.

The south façade is the right façade of the home. This street gets very little traffic and ends as a dead end on its south route.

This site is adjacent to Warwick Avenue which includes services such as Harris Teeter, Food Lion, Firestone, Plaza Azteca, Sun Trust Bank, 7-Eleven, Asian Grill, Centre Court Indoor Tennis Club, and Glendale Shoppe Pharmacy.

This neighborhood is very close to Christopher Newport University.

Newport News is a part of the Peninsula in South East VA. It is on the inner water side of the James River with Hampton to its right and Williamsburg to its North West.

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Front View

Back

Left Side

Right Side

Sun Porch left-back

Front Landscape

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Newport News GISViewer

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Newport News GISViewer

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1

Green Systems Application

FARMING, VEGETATIVE WALL, GREEN ROOF

THEME- Greening the Connective Surfaces Thematic Focus In this stage the focus will be on greening the landscape through farming, creating a vertical green wall for the north side of the home, and breaking down pitches to create green roof capabilities and applying the extensive green roof.

Part of Argument Addressed I argue that when green systems are applied to a single dwelling a contagious reaction will begin: a hybrid style emerges, the site conditions change, and the study of this new site will be a beneficial catalyst for the neighboring homes that follow suit.

Because the contagious retrofit starts with green systems applied it will also start as the first stage. I argue this because these green systems have benefits of sustainability.

Hypothesis Applying Farming to the front lawn and connecting this vegetative process to the vertical green wall with choice of species, and developing the green roof will create a green infrastructure that will circulate water well, cool the house, give opportunity to produce one’s own produce, reduce the heat island effect, and reveal new architectural techniques to be further developed.

Foundation • • • •

Kip Nash (Boulder, CO) disturbed his neighborhood by farming on front lawns.

Roxanne Christensen’s Spin Farming proves that this can be economical and self efficient.

Green Roofs began to connect the green surfaces needed to create joint vegetative planes needed to create this green infrastructure.

Vertical Green Wall is a direct connector from green roof to lawn for a more sustainable infrastructure.

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Task/Context/MediaGreening the Connective Surfaces When?

What?

How?

Media?

Who?

Dates of Exploration

Task Identified

To do Method

Idea expression

Beneficiaries

Measure out site and determine rows and widths of farming beds.

Draw out property line and measure lawn footprint.

Sketch Pad Documentatio n as reference.

This will benefit the homeowner; this information will give an estimate of yearly gross.

01/25/09 Sunday

Draw the site and label square footage.

Using the width of beds and width of walkways, calculate potential linear formations.

AutoCAD 2D Drawing in plan view

Photoshop show potential diagrammatic linear formation options

I will understand the limitations of design through formation of vegetative bedding.

Note Findings...

01/26/09 Monday

Diagram Possible Circulation lines two and from home.

Diagram linear passages for front and backyard bedding of

Using diagrams formed, layout how one would circulate from street side to door, driveway to door, front to back, and to neighbor.

In Photoshop make solid circulation paths with linear diagrams slightly transparent.

The visitor and the residency.

Print out 56 | T S p e l l

vegetation.

Create multiple Possibilities

multiple possibilities.

Note Findings...

01/27/09

Do Synthesis

On an 11x14 Sheet of Vellum Draw out one of the combinations in perspective using color pencils.

A vision to the homeowner of possible vegetative landscaping.

Photographs

Matrix of material usage and capabilities.

This will benefit me in understandin g how the vegetative wall can be applied.

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Identify home materials and wall structure.

Draw wall section by hand.

11x14 sheet of vellum and lead pencil.

This is to benefit the residence and their way of life.

Identify inside effects of programming.

Draw wall showing interior programming and exterior landscaping.

11x14 sheet of Vellum in color pencil.

Tuesday

Draw Landscape Perspective Drawing

Note Findings...

01/28/09 Wednesday

Identify home materials and wall structure

Take photos of walls and identify history of materials

Note Findings...

01/29/09 Thursday 01/30/09 Friday

Rest Day (Reflect)

Note Findings 01/31/09 Saturday

Diagram best places In Diagram Form for vertical mark out great places to vegetate

Create Diagrams by hand using ink

This will be beneficial to design 57 | T S p e l l

vegetation.

Look up Breeds with lawn vegetation choices in mind.

and show why diagrammatically.

and markers.

Show Multiple Diagrams.

Using Ebony Pencil & Color pencils Draw a few options of planting for wall

Draw vegetation options.

decisions and panel setup.

Note Findings 02/01/09 Sunday

Sketch out three potential ideas for application of green wall, using resources found.

Make three exploded axons in of wall, showing materials through rendering.

Form Z

This will be helpful to the contractor applying this wall system.

This will also benefit the residence by keeping the house cool during the warmer months.

Supply list will come through research steps.

This provides a full visual to user.

Note Findings

02/02/09 Monday

Physically apply to small wall section detail.

Take materials similar to house and make a square ft. wall detail model applying vertical green wall.

3D Physical Model

Note Findings 02/03/09

Rest Day (reflect)

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---------------

---------------

Generate free hand sketches showing details

Small detailed sketches in 4x6 sketch

Designer concerns in which one

Tuesday 02/04/09 Wednesday

Evaluate wall section detail.

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and areas of concern.

pad

might address and create new ideas.

Form Z 3D models

This tells how the structure will directly be affected due to slope change and green roof.

AutoCAD Section Drawings of house including site.

This will show access and programs changes and whether it is feasible for home-owner.

Note Findings...

02/05/09 Thursday

Identify Structural changes to roof.

Create current structural diagram of home.

Make changes to accommodate green roof.

Note Findings...

02/07/09 Saturday

Diagram circulation to green roof.

Identify programming changes

Create a Section Cut of the house showing the circulation access to roof.

Draw original Section of house

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Goals- Greening the Connective Surfaces

Criteria- Greening the Connective Surfaces

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2

Glazing the Sunny Side...

DOUBLE ENVELOPE STRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT

THEME- The Sun is My Light and My Heat Thematic Focus The focus of this theme is to create a double envelope that will be a buffer and heat absorber for this household in the winter but also gives controls through its joints for sun shades and other possibilities.

Part of Argument Addressed I argue that when green systems are applied to a single dwelling a contagious reaction will begin: a hybrid style emerges, the site conditions change, and the study of this new site will be a beneficial catalyst for the neighboring homes that follow suit.

The double envelope is a green system that is used to bring in natural light and create a warm atmosphere for the house’s inhabitants.

Hypothesis Using a double envelope will bring in light through the home, give views out into neighborhood, and create a buffer zone that can be used as a sun porch, or garden. This beneficial element will bring a sense of nature into the household.

Foundation •

• •

The Double Envelope House was the first house the double envelope was discovered through a concept that created high insulation, but was not continually practiced on houses over time.

Hookers Office Building (Niagara, NY) was the first commercial building that introduced the double envelope.

Genzyme Center (Cambridge, MA) shows that we are practicing the double envelope as a sustainable technique but once again its applied to commercial buildings.

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Task/Context/MediaThe Sun is My Light and My Heat When?

What?

How?

Media?

Who?

Dates of Exploration

Task Identified

To do Method

Idea expression

Beneficiaries

Rest Day (reflect)

--------------------

--------------

---------------

Understand components (interior spaces vs. exterior)

Make a break apart 3D Model of house that diagrams program and exterior current materials.

Chipboard and transparent sheets for physical model.

The user private and public spaces must be recognized and treated in a manner where glazing is chosen correctly.

4x6 Sketchpad and ebony pencil

The User will experience a more exposed experience.

02/08/09 Sunday 02/09/09-02/10/09 Monday-Tuesday

Note Findings...

02/11/09- 02/12/09 Wednesday- Thursday

Design three ideas of double envelope.

Make sketches of multiple renditions

Create 3D model

Form Z Renderings

Note Findings...

02/13/09 Friday

02/14/09 Saturday

Research best glass choices for design options Rest Day (Reflect)

Go to library and find information on latest materials

Matrix

User and designers choice.

Must be eco-friendly.

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Valentine’s Day 02/15/09-02/16/09 Sunday-Monday

Draw section detail of wall proposed

Take schematics of wall and develop double envelope section labeled.

AutoCad

Give designer view of options.

Sketch diagrams on sketch.

Designer develops detail for best options.

Draw wall showing interior programming and exterior landscaping.

Note Findings 02/17/09-02/19/09 Tuesday-Thursday

Develop multiple possibilities of what can happen with section due to site conditions and user lifestyle.

Create diagrams showing what is happening with new wall using intuition and sun studies.

Sketch possibilities of new double envelope

Hand Drawings on Vellum

AutoCAD Section Drawing Details labeled

Create Drafts of four new

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options

Note Findings 02/20/09

Rest Day (Reflect)

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Take all research material and put I presentation order.

Photoshop

Saturday-Sunday

Gather research and fill in gaps

Audience and Professors

02/23/09-02/27/09

MIDTERMS

MIDTERMS

MIDTERMS

MIDTERMS

Friday 02/21/09-02/22/09

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Goals- The Sun is My Light and My Heat

Criteria- The Sun is My Light and My Heat

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3

Hybrid Design Development

SYNTHESIS OF SYSTEMS AESTHETIC DETAILS DEVELOPED

THEME- Traditional Embraces Contemporary Thematic Focus The focus of this theme is to do a synthesis of the green systems working together.

Through viewing what is happening solutions shall develop. Can this really work, is it appealing? These are the questions we are looking to answer in this development.

Part of Argument Addressed I argue that when green systems are applied to a single dwelling a contagious reaction will begin: a hybrid style emerges, the site conditions change, and the study of this new site will be a beneficial catalyst for the neighboring homes that follow suit. The systems applied are used in contemporary designed architecture and will cause an interesting dynamic when applied to traditional American housing.

Hypothesis The study of how these elements can work together will bring a solution for this hybrid aesthetically, structurally, and functionally. (firmness, commodity, delight)

Foundation • • •

The American Dream House is where consumption began, so it is best to recognize them and consider how far the transformation can go.

Geothermal Residence (Boston, MA) helps recognize sustainable techniques that can transfer and develop in the retrofit.

Brick Terrace House Retrofit (Mottingham, London)shows how a retrofit has taken place and what difference it made to the exterior.

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Task/Context/MediaTraditional Embraces Contemporary When?

What?

How?

Media?

Who?

Dates of Exploration

Task Identified

To do Method

Idea expression

Beneficiaries

03/02/09-03/04/09

Take info Gathered and make 3D Model of Original Home

Digitally build the original house from structure to landscape.

Form Z Renderings

This will be the before model image.

Add landscape d farming to Model

Digitally add the farming chosen from earlier studies with circulation paths included.

Form Z. Renderings

This will show where retrofit starts

Sunday- Tuesday

03/05/09-03/06/09 WednesdayThursday

Note Findings...

03/07/09 Friday 03/08/09 Saturday

Rest Day (Reflect)

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Add Vertical Green Wall System

Digitally configure paneling location and add to 3D Model

Form Z renderings

This will show connection between ground and wall.

Form Z renderings

This will show connection between ground and

Note Findings 03/10/09-3/11/09 Sunday-Monday

Add Green Roof

Reconfigure roof into a green roof

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wall and roof.

Show detail of layers on Model and off model

Note Findings 03/12/09 Tuesday 03/13/09-03/14/09 WednesdayThursday

Rest Day (Reflect)

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Add double envelope.

Use initial drawings to create double envelope in digital form in detail

Form Z renderings

Began to see synthesis

Form Z

See difficulties and successes

Note Findings 3/15/09- 3/16/09 Friday- Saturday

Evaluate Synthesis

Do Sun Studies

Diagram in Elevation details that must change.

03/17/09-03/18/09 Sunday-Wednesday

Create Schematic of new possibiliti es through issues found.

Make an Exploded Axonometric

AutoCAD Elevations & Hand Renderings

AutoCAD hard lined Axon w/notes

Details Documentati on of pieces working together.

Hand Rendering

Photoshop 03/19/09-03/21/09 Thursday-Saturday

Rest Days (Reflect)

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Goals- Traditional Embraces Contemporary

Criteria- Traditional Embraces Contemporary

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4

Site Conditions Exposes Extended Development

SITE ANALYSIS, PROPOSED CHANGES TO NEW HOME, SCHEMATIC OPTIONS

THEME- Retrofit Catalyst Thematic Focus The focus of this theme is to expose options for the neighboring home through the site analysis of new design.

Part of Argument Addressed I argue that when green systems are applied to a single dwelling a contagious reaction will begin: a hybrid style emerges, the site conditions change, and the study of this new site will be a beneficial catalyst for the neighboring homes that follow suit. The systems applied are used in contemporary designed architecture and will cause an interesting dynamic when applied to traditional American housing.

Hypothesis The study of the changes on the new home will create a reactive effect on the neighboring home that will be beneficial to conserving energy and building relationships.

Foundation • • •

Harmony Village (Golden, CO) developed their own sustainable lifestyle together through meetings.

Smart Grid City (Boulder, CO) uses technology only while inhabitants still have the choice of not reaching out to each other to become sustainable.

North Street Cohousing (Daly, CA) defines community through an open house relationship.

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Task/Context/Media- Retrofit Catalyst When?

What?

How?

Media?

Who?

Dates of Exploration

Task Identified

To do Method

Idea expression

Beneficiarie s

Draw Site including both homes including changes.

AutoCAD Site Plan

The neighbors

03/22/09-03/23/09 Sunday- Monday

Make a intuitive site diagram.

Hand Rendering

Note Findings Symbolism Analysis Photoshop 03/24/09-03/26/09 Tuesday - Thursday

Create Drawings of possibilities.

Hand sketch ideas formed through study of new site.

Vellum and pencil.

Neighbors

Perspectives of specific areas.

Note Findings...

03/27/09 Friday 03/28/09-04/04/09 Saturday-Sunday

04/05/09 Sunday 04/06/09-04/12/09 Monday-Sunday

Rest Day (Reflect)

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----------------

Wrap up Research

Finish any finishing touches and details.

All Medias

All

Rest Day (Reflect)

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----------------

Presentatio n Prep

Outline Verbal

All

Audience.

Presentation Format & 71 | T S p e l l

Ordering, Last Research Issues 04/13/09 Monday

All Materials are Due

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Goals- Traditional Embraces Contemporary 72 | T S p e l l

Criteria- Retrofit Catalyst

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Green Infrastructure Provocation.................

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The proposal helped me begin a design research process that was developed to support the research and evidence that was provided in Section I. As I began this process, what was intended within the proposed schedule was not efficient for the time and observation needed to prove my claim. As the semester progressed I reached a point where I focused on Stage I: Green Infrastructure. Green infrastructure provocation is the initial setting of this retrofit and will provide the base of the following stages which will be the design research done at a later time. Green infrastructure is the connection of vegetative land from ground, to wall, then to the roof. Due to many suburban homes having a roof pitch that gets sufficient sunlight, the options of solar panels would be the best solution, rather than vegetation. So I explored the lawn and the wall to understand the underlying point that makes this concept so contagious. This idea had its own hidden agenda’s that included irrigation, soil properties, and an understanding of transformation that may be accepted or rejected. With these issues ahead, I began to understand and resolve through design.

Site When choosing the site, the objective was to choose a neighborhood that had a typical suburban atmosphere. Each home was approximately 20 ft apart and there was plenty of space to cultivate the lawn. The aerial view map shows how the home that is being

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studied relates to its neighbor’s home. The lot being studied has a lawn that covers approximately 7, 773 square feet of the property.

The contour map reveals topography that gives a clear idea of how water drifts along the site. In the far right corner of this map the topography goes down approximately six ft. This is the location of a small stream that is in the backyards of many of the homes in this neighborhood. This stream currently has a water pipe that takes all of the access water into the city’s sewer system. As I viewed this map I also noticed the land to built ratio. There is plenty of land but it has been mowed and obtained by chemicals so that weeds and other sources do not sprout consistently.

I then created a zoning map that shows how this neighborhood fits into a larger scale. The map shows that this area is majority single family homes but has a strip in the middle, Warwick Boulevard, which has business/retail. There are also two park districts on the left side of Warwick blvd. As one rides down Warwick Blvd, there is plenty of traffic and parking for the current large strip malls. The single-family homes are tucked behind these strip malls, yet they are very close.

Sun Studies Vegetating land takes careful planning, space, sunlight, and wind.78 I began with sun studies of my site and its neighboring home. Understanding the sun and its effect on vegetation will assist in choosing which vegetation should grow where and what time of the year it should be prepared. I chose to include the neighbor’s home because it is very important to understand the effects that relate to the changes on this site. In this case the neighbor affects the initial home due to the shadows it casts directly into the front

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and back yard. The neighbor lives on the corner with little influence from another home which gives plenty of opportunity to use sunlight.

The site tends to get the most sunlight in the front and backyards simultaneously in each season diagram around 10am12pm. The shadow from the home is longer in the cooler seasons of fall and winter. The shadow is shorter in spring & summer. Knowing when to plant seeds is very important. The best time to plant is between periods of frost, from spring to fall, when there is normally sufficient warmth to germinate seeds and sufficient sunlight to mature vegetables.79 These diagrams give me an idea of whether vegetation is a good idea on this site. The site gets plenty of sun and air. It is a good candidate to vegetate upon according to these studies.

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Vegetation Bed Layout Observations Option A

Option D

Option B

Option C

Option E

Option F

Option A explores traditional bedding. Traditional bedding is used on large farms because it makes it easier to take large equipment through to till the soil and lay seeds.

Traditional bedding on this site may not be necessary. The site is smaller than the usual farming landscape and has plenty of room to take different forms. Option A works well for Dutch Beds which are highly recommended in How to Grow Vegetables. In Dutch beds poor soil can be made into good soil and good soil can be made nearly perfect.80 These beds can be about three to four feet wide. Dutch beds are designed to have good width but most importantly they are designed to come approximately twelve to eighteen inches higher than ground level.81 This creates a cleaner layout that is easier to obtain.

Option B takes a traditional linear formation that is horizontal. This option works better than the last because the beds are at reasonable length. A reasonable length for a bed is 78 | T S p e l l

approximately fifteen feet.82 Each Row extends from an inner portion of the property line unlike option A which extended from the street to the end of the yard which made the bed walkways that are between difficult to be accessed. This is one option that can work for someone who wants something very simple and easy to layout.

Option C explores curved bedding. Curved bedding brings movement of the site. It begins to tell a different story and is preferred by many as an aesthetic choice. Creating bedding templates for this would explore using a material that may easily bend or many short pieces of material that can be put together in a curved formation.

Option D is what I call pod bedding. Pod bedding creates walkways that curve and creates a staggered effect from the street. What is interesting about the pod bedding is that, if he pods are large enough in diameter, family or friends can gather around one and seed or pull together. Creating this style can be very difficult; one might prefer to make circular pods in different areas of the yard to create similar results.

Option E is a bedding design that is more complex. It breaks up the yard by creating random linear walkways at different angles. So, if one was to begin by digging their walkways first, it can be very simple to implement. The problem with this example is that it creates bedding that is far too wide.

Option F is very similar to option E but it creates smaller width beds. When I looked at this bedding design, I realized that the rows begin to make groups of beds that can give the option to grow certain vegetables together at different ends of the yard. This option can bring something very interesting to a neighborhood but may be too complicated to layout.

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Out of all six options, option B, C, and F can be very successful depending on the household and their personality type. These three options are very diverse and can fit for someone who is simple, loves movement, or has a complex nature.

Treating Soil Every yard may carry a different grade of soil, but not all soil can produce great yield.

The soil must be loose enough to hold water but not compact and stiff. Poor soil will limit the plant growth. A method that I found to be the most natural, simple, and promotes conservation, is creating your own compost. Compost loosens heavy soil, facilitates drainage, and goes to work on clods to break them into smaller pieces. Wellmade compost have been shown to have plant growing benefits far in excess of its simple ‘nutrient analysis’ and to be an active factor in enhancing plant resistance to pets.83 This compost can be prepared before spring and lie approximately two to three feet below the beds and covered with mulch to prepare for planting season. One can also start compost piles in their backyard below the ground, holding all materials and waste and can be covered and kept shut. In this example I have modeled a scenario where the compost has its own box dug into ground and covered with a solar panel. This solar panel will absorb the sunlight while restoring electricity back into the grid.

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Bed Design Dutch bedding was one of the types of bedding that is very significant and helpful in creating a yielding garden. I tried to understand how these beds can be designed to create a simple layout. The first design was a bed that was made of clay and created steps that would be easy to sit on while seeding or pulling. These steps would be pretty low but starts to create a uniform design to the home’s yard. It also can be a style that symbolizes vinyl siding that is the exterior clad upon many suburban homes. The second example was a bed design that was made for kneeling on the knees. This example shows a grassy felt that curves in from the top of the bed to the ground holding the curve of the knee. The system used to design this bed is very similar to Patrick Blanc green wall systems where there is a metal framing, a pvc layer, then the felt that the planting grows from. It will be very interesting seeing it all at full bloom. As I came up with multiple examples of what can happen with these beds, I was curious about what would happen along the pathways. It was very common for mulch to be laid along the paths, so I tried to find a more sustainable solution. Endurasafe was that product that would be the substitute for mulch and is one of the best alternatives. Endurasafe is a recycled rubber product that is typically used as an alternative to natural based

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mulches in landscaping application, and as a resilient surfacing material for shock absorption application in playgrounds and outside sports facilities.84 Endurasafe also comes in different color choices and does not have to be re-laid constantly. Due to its material it outlives natural based mulches. This is definitely the sustainable and easy to implement solution.

Irrigation Vegetating on the lawn will not be a success if there is no way to get water to the living organisms. Many people use their water hoes, sprinkler systems and many other ways to water their lawn, but when it comes to vegetating upon the land, too much water or too little water can be a problem. I suggest that a few systems working together to begin a base grid will help send an efficient amount of water to each plant.

This system recycles water and uses storm water.

This system was created using multiple systems such as water harvesting, water filtering, drip irrigation, and bioswales. Water harvesting is when one holds the water runoff in a cistern and uses the water at a later time. This water being held in this cistern will then go through the filtration system that clean the water and pumps it into the house and/or the drip irrigation system. The drip irrigation system releases just the amount of water needed for the vegetation to grow at its best. This reduces excessive use of water. Bioswales can also be created along the property, but instead of creating ditches that catches water I suggest that we use it as 82 | T S p e l l

an opportunity to create what I call Bioswale Structural Art. Bioswale structural art is a frame designed to hold vegetation vertically. This frame can be constructed at the midpoint of this bioswale as a signifier that this water system is located here. All water from the site will drain into these bioswales and will be pumped up to the vegetation or back into the cistern where it will be recycled as well.

Once these systems are integrated together it creates a garden that recycles water and waste, produces food, and reduces the heat island effect. This organic vegetation that will create a healthier household brings many benefits although these are simple solutions. The systems brought together can create an atmosphere of curiosity and talk around town. What are they growing? Am I paying for water that he/she is reusing? This will begin the cycle of being contagious.

The network of water systems connected will make a vast change in how water is conserved and penetrated through the land to grow the vegetation that once resided on the same land many years ago.

Green Walls Applying a green wall to a home is very different from applying a green wall to a larger commercial building. The home structural system is created to hold

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approximatelt only two floors, is usually wood framed, and has a light cladding material; with the exception of brick homes or clay homes in our southern regions. With this in mind I explored a few green walls to decide what would be best. Earth Cinch was a green wall system that was very interesting to me. Earth cinch was proposed as a transitional biodegradable growth system for vertical and horizontal surfaces.85 When modeling this type of green wall. I realized that it would be considerably heavy and even bulky for the traditional American home.

I then reviewed G-Sky green wall panels. G-Sky Green wall panels are patented modular planting system for vertical walls.86 This system is low maintenance and is sent with the planting ready to set up. The modular panels are made up of an ultraviolet resistant, non flammable Polypropylene.87 This system is an investment but is very easy to create oneself. I would recommend creating similar planting pots and creating a grid structure to place them within each niche, which will create a similar effect.

Then I explored the planting shelf where all plants that are grown, line up standing vertically on a shelving area. The model that I created produced double rows of plants that would not be as effective if it was put against the wall of a home. A single row would suffice to get plenty of sunlight and just enough shade from the shelf above.

A significant amount of both is very important when growing any leafy vegetation.

As I reviewed the previous options of green wall systems, I wanted to come up with a design solution that would be much lighter on the home and creates a canopy shaded area. I decided that a tensile structure extended from tall bamboo that is mounted deep into the ground and pinned to the side of the home would be a solution

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to grow vine like vegetation that will begin from a garden bed and create a web of vegetation. This wall will extend from home to ground but look as if the vegetation is embracing the home’s exterior. This solution is not as heavy and creates a green wall that will reduce the heat island effect.

Contagious?

As I focused on each system; understanding why it was the best for the context, structure, and easy to implement by the homeowner; I realized that there are so many things that I am still up against when creating such a contagious retrofit. Although these systems bring benefits, will they really carry over? So I began to explore on a large-scale to get an overview of what I am working with using such systems.

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The water system must be an easy grid system that can be extended to each home as a simple twist pipe hook-up. If it is hooked up initially vertically extending from street to backyard, there will be one main hook-up space to a similar grid system of the neighbor’s home. The second example hooks up to each horizontal tube which is a more difficult option to implement.

Understanding the design of the grid water system helps me to understand the larger scale in which this idea can potentially progress.

There are also great financial benefits to using the produce that is grown on the lawn to sell to neighboring businesses. Roxanne Christensen who started spin farming has stated that a half an acre of land is potentially 50,000 gross per year. Cultivating one’s own land can pay as much as a second job or even make up for a lost job. Due to the loss of homes because of the economy, I suggest this as a very sustainable, life fulfilling option that can bring a lot of benefits to homeowners. With the site that I studied in Newport news VA the area that can be vegetated was aproximately 7,773 square feet. If I estimated using Roxanne Christensen numbers. This home can make approximately 17, 884 a year. The average mortgage in Hampton roads is about eight hundred dollars. Using the bar gaph

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below I calculated his mortgage range that would be covered if the owner chooses to use this option. This is so important to analyse because, we have come too far from living off our own land. Homewners have lost their control and are now loosing their very home that they have invested so much in. Instead of taking the same procedures to keep our homes. Growing food and selling our food will bring us closer to having a grounded relationship with nature as well as create a permenant environment for children who will know where their food comes from.

This implementaton is something I believe will accelerate if neighbors were to come together and work as a team. Although it is very important to open up the community to its residence as a full playground, it is also important to set boundaries and not necessarily barriers. The design of the vegetation beds and the choice of heights will begin to distinquish where property lines are, yet still show a more welcoming cohesiveness to the neghborhod design. If one chooses to create a full barrier, e.g. a green wall on the property line, it will probably not work as well with creating a more inclusive environment. This wall will block sun and also look as if the personal lot is not a part of a whole.

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Neighborhood Sun Study Observations I decided to look at a full sun study of this neighborhood including eleven lots. Each lot created its own shadow. The trees on the site created plenty of shade in certain areas which may become future play areas for children. All areas marked in green is potential vegetation land. This is the level in which this idea becomes contagious. Communities will begin to see themselves as a whole community and designate areas to do activities together with the same goals of producing from their land and providing organics to local groceries. These sun studies also gave me an idea of where vegetation should gow vertically. Each home has a wall that can potentially grow vegetation. The best wall to vegetate would be one that is east, west, or south; and it must recieve shade from the house next to it. In the photographs below I marked which walls they would be in this scenario.

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Conclusion It must be ‘Steadfast’: Learning from the 70’s The issues we face today are the same ones we faced in the 1970’s when we Had the energy crisis. America came up with solutions as President Jimmy Carter gave incentives. It was a time of innovation and proactive solutions, but it began to fall short as Ronald Raegan did not support the same venture. Today Global Warming is one of the biggest obstacles we face on earth. The world has become more aware and green lifestyle has been the marketing strategy that makes us knowledgabe of what each one of us can do. With the support of Barack Obama and his administration, this will very well work as the solution for suburban consumption. This can not end with Barack Obama’s term as it did Jimmy Carter. In the 1970’s ideas where at its hieght when it came to solutions for conserving energy which has been suported by my evidence (See Apendix A). These solutions will prevail at higher rate today due to the advances in technology in which we have progressed. I acknowledge the attempt to fight these issues then and hope that this retrofit is one that will be supported now and for a long time.

Simplicity an esquisite exhibition will help this follow through. With the application being a clean simple institution as well as one that one would want to invest in, a homeowner will not feel as if he is loosing a lifestyle but gaining a more preferable, integral, and sustainable way of life that can bring longer lifespans to future generations. Integrity is key when it comes the architectural profession and this concept

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provides a way of living that protects the health, safety, and welfare of people. I do believe that my mission will be accomplished by 2020.

Through the design research I learned that less is more and there can be complexities in things that seem so simple. I think that is the key to starting something lifechanging. A friend of mine name Kory Saunders always says, “it takes a baby steps.�

The green infrastructure provocation is just one step to creating the contagious retrofit.

The double envelope must still be explored and the hybrid analysis study will also reveal new things about the site. I call this initial mission green infrastructure provocation because it provokes the steps that will follow. This first step was so important because it creates such high results within this one idea. This very idea is being explored by Fritz Haeg, author of edible estates. His idea exhibits the effect of community and how a garden can bring them together. We have gone so far from protecting, feeding, and knowing our children and families due to our fast paced economic system, but consider this quote by Thomas Jefferson: Whenever there are any country uncultivated lands and unemployed poor, it is clear that the laws of property have been so far extended as to violate natural right. The earth is given as a common stock for man to labor and live on. The small landowners are the most precious part of state.88

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So I claim one last time: when green systems are applied to a single dwelling a contagious reaction will begin: a hybrid style emerges, the site conditions change, and the study of this new site will be a beneficial catalyst for the neighboring homes that follow suit. So let’s vegetate!

1

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53 Strongman, Cathy. "Greening a Terrace." Arcitect's Journal, 2008: 80-82.

54 Strongman, Cathy. "Greening a Terrace." Arcitect's Journal, 2008: 80-82.

55 Strongman, Cathy. "Greening a Terrace." Arcitect's Journal, 2008: 80-82.

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81 Cosper, Lloyd C, and Harry B. Logan. How to Grow Vegetables. New York: Duell,Sloan and Pearce, 1951.

82 Cosper, Lloyd C, and Harry B. Logan. How to Grow Vegetables. New York: Duell,Sloan and Pearce, 1951.

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