About a year ago I met up with Greg Upwall a DC based architect and through our conversation I learned of an innovative green building design he was working on for urban settings like much of DC. This past weekend while attending the “Southern Exposure Homes” Passive House Tour I had a chance to catch up with him to see the finished drawings for the project and learn more about the scope of the design.
By now most people are aware of the importance of green building but many are still confused by what it actually makes a building green.
We often see examples of green building projects in suburban sites with large yards and detached single family homes but it may be less common to see design ideas that are suited to the factors of urban sites such as narrow lots or infill sites common across DC.
Studio Upwall’s design for urban DC lots is taking a concept and building a reality here with this new and exciting design, that brings together elements from the natural world to the built environment.
According to Greg Upwall they were seeking to create a design that would fit within the footprint of a typical DC rowhouse building site. The designs as pictured reflect the local neighborhood context and comply with local code issues specific to DC. In a typical row house, the narrow site makes it challenging to introduce natural daylight and adequate ventilation to the center areas because most of the windows are located at the front and rear of the house. Natural daylight and ventilation are key considerations to sustainable design and the creation of healthy indoor environments, and are fundamental in every project that we design.
The most striking feature and solution to the project design was the introduction of an open-air courtyard in the center of the house. This courtyard functions much like a light well would in older row houses. But while most light wells are narrow – just wide enough for one window, the courtyard in this design is wide enough to be used as an outdoor space for bar-b-ques or for a safe place for children to play. The courtyard feels like an “outdoor room” in the middle of the house, and along with the deep covered front and rear porch, allows in daylight and bridges the indoor/outdoor space. These measures along with the skylights in the upper level actually help to reduce the energy use of the home because the need for indoor lighting is decreased during daylight hours.
Another key feature of this design is the use of structural insulated panel or “SIP” construction which will result in much greater thermal performance and higher insulation values for the house. The SIP panels are fabricated offsite, built with precision to reflect the configuration of the design, then delivered to the site where they are set onto the foundation. This allows the walls floors and roof of the house to be erected in as little as one or two weeks. The SIP construction minimizes heat loss through joints in the building assembly, and is a stronger and more stable method of construction. The SIP panels are covered with traditional finishes so the house will not look different than a conventionally framed house.
The windows in the house have been designed to consider sun. Overhangs are sized to shade them from the sun during the hottest time of the year but to allow the sun to enter during the winter when the sun is lower in the sky and when the added warmth is welcomed. This along with the highly insulated construction will result in significant energy savings resulting from lower heating and cooling bills over the life of the house. Other green features will include rain water collection for landscaping, dual-flush toilets and LED light fixtures, all designed to further reduce the home’s consumption of water and electricity.
The best part is that these houses will be comparable in price to conventionally built houses on the market today, and should actually be offered on the market at a lower price point than other new homes which are less efficient in their use of space.”
With over 16 years of experience in the field, Greg Upwall is a licensed architect in California, Maryland and the District of Columbia, and is a LEED AP, Green Point Rater, and Certified Passive House Consultant. He is the Principal and founder of Studio Upwall, a DC based firm that specializes in sustainable design for residential, multi-family, and small commercial projects.
