The Daily OrangeThree eco-friendly homes to be built in Near Westside
By Victoria Napoli
Posted: 10/28/09, 2:41 AM EST Section: News
Construction is now underway on three sustainable houses being built in Syracuse's Near Westside neighborhood.
The homes were designed by three winning architecture firms who submitted plans to the "From the Ground Up: Innovative Green Homes" sustainable design challenge. The competition was held in January, and the groundbreaking ceremony for the building sites was held Oct. 21. A completion date for the homes was set for late spring 2010.
The purpose of the competition was to affordably build a single family home that uses green technologies and green building techniques while still being affordable, said Jacob Brown, a research fellow with UPSTATE and an administrator for the competition.
The competition was sponsored by Syracuse University's School of Architecture, Home HeadQuarters, Inc., a company that renovates houses in Syracuse, and the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems, which promotes the development and use of green technologies.
Ana Fernandez, an environmental scientist for the Center of Excellence, worked closely with the competition.
"There is a lot of national and international attention to see how these houses will perform in the area. All of the houses have some innovative design such as the latest technology for heating and cooling," Fernandez said.
The School of Architecture's UPSTATE center assembled experts in sustainable architecture and design to collaborate on the construction of the homes.
Brown said the competition was about creating an innovative design that would spur other energy efficient projects.
"The idea is that if you build something new and it has the power to draw people and investments, then you only have to build a few things because it will generate future developments," Brown said.
Home HeadQuarters, Inc., will be managing the development and construction of the homes, Brown said.
The project is a part of the Syracuse Art, Life and Technology District, a branch of the larger multimillion-dollar Near Westside revitalization project called the Near Westside Initiative, Brown said.
The homes were designed by three winning architecture firms who submitted plans to the "From the Ground Up: Innovative Green Homes" sustainable design challenge. The competition was held in January, and the groundbreaking ceremony for the building sites was held Oct. 21. A completion date for the homes was set for late spring 2010.
The purpose of the competition was to affordably build a single family home that uses green technologies and green building techniques while still being affordable, said Jacob Brown, a research fellow with UPSTATE and an administrator for the competition.
The competition was sponsored by Syracuse University's School of Architecture, Home HeadQuarters, Inc., a company that renovates houses in Syracuse, and the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems, which promotes the development and use of green technologies.
Ana Fernandez, an environmental scientist for the Center of Excellence, worked closely with the competition.
"There is a lot of national and international attention to see how these houses will perform in the area. All of the houses have some innovative design such as the latest technology for heating and cooling," Fernandez said.
The School of Architecture's UPSTATE center assembled experts in sustainable architecture and design to collaborate on the construction of the homes.
Brown said the competition was about creating an innovative design that would spur other energy efficient projects.
"The idea is that if you build something new and it has the power to draw people and investments, then you only have to build a few things because it will generate future developments," Brown said.
Home HeadQuarters, Inc., will be managing the development and construction of the homes, Brown said.
The project is a part of the Syracuse Art, Life and Technology District, a branch of the larger multimillion-dollar Near Westside revitalization project called the Near Westside Initiative, Brown said.
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Canada Guy
posted 11/02/09 @ 11:19 AM EST
Where are the real green homes? Today's homes, even when designed to be "green" are much larger than earlier homes and have a much smaller household. (Continued…)
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