FUNDAMENTALS OF SUSTAINABLE DWELLINGS

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2 FUNDAMENTALS OF SUSTAINABLE DWELLINGS

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4 FUNDAMENTALS OF SUSTAINABLE DWELLINGS AVI FRIEDMAN WASHINGTON COVELO LONDON

5 2012 AVI FRIEDMAN All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher: Island Press, Suite 300, 1718 Connecticut Ave., NW, Washington, DC ISLAND PRESS is a trademark of the Center for Resource Economics. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Friedman, Avi, Fundamentals of sustainable dwellings / Avi Friedman. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN-10: (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN-13: (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN-10: (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Ecological houses- -Design and construction. I. Title. TH4860.F dc Printed using Eldora Text and ITC Officina Sans Text design by Joan Wolbier Typesetting by Joan Wolbier Printed on recycled, acid-free paper Manufactured in the United States of America Keywords: aging in place, climate change, cradle-to-cradle design, daylighting, edible landscapes, energy conservation, energy-efficient windows, geothermal energy, green roofs, green building, greywater harvesting and recycling, indoor air quality (IAQ), insulation, LEED, life cycle assessment, live-work dwellings, lowemissivity glass, modular design, multi-generational living, prefabrication, radiant heating/cooling, solar energy, sustainable design, USGBC, waste management, water conservation, Xeriscaping

6 CONTENTS ix PREFACE xi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1 CHAPTER 1 Principles of Sustainable Dwellings 1 GLOBAL AND LOCAL TRENDS 4 PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS 6 RESOURCES 7 CERTIFICATIONS OF SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES 11 CHAPTER 2 Siting a Home 11 SITE SELECTION 13 ZONING 13 DESIGNING WITH CLIMATE 22 PRESERVING AND RESTORING FLORA AND FAUNA 25 PRESERVING TOPOGRAPHY AND NATURAL DRAINAGE 28 Gulf Island Residence 31 CHAPTER 3 Sustainable Residential Design Concepts 31 ARCHITECTURAL SOLUTIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE LIVING 32 LIVE-WORK DWELLINGS 33 AGING IN PLACE 36 MULTIGENERATIONAL LIVING 37 SMALL-SIZE HOUSING 40 FLEXIBLE AND GROWING HOMES 45 The Next Home 49 CHAPTER 4 Unit-Planning Principles 49 COST-EFFECTIVE COMFORT 50 DESIGN PRINCIPLES 61 Remington Court 65 CHAPTER 5 Constructing a Home 65 THE BUILDING ENVELOPE 66 THERMAL MASS AND ITS DISTRIBUTION 72 EFFICIENT FRAMING AND CONSTRUCTION DETAILS 76 PREFABRICATION AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY 78 Annie Residence 83 CHAPTER 6 Building Materials 83 LIFE-CYCLE ASSESSMENT PRINCIPLES 88 CRADLE-TO-CRADLE ASSESSMENT OF COMMON BUILDING MATERIALS 102 Palms 105 CHAPTER 7 Energy-Efficient Windows 105 WINDOW DEVELOPMENT 107 DAYLIGHTING 109 SHADING 110 CONTROLLING AIR MOVEMENT 112 CONTROLLING HEAT LOSS 115 AIR LEAKAGE CONTROL 115 CONDENSATION AND RAIN PENETRATION CONTROL 117 GLAZING-UNIT INNOVATIONS 121 WINDOW INSTALLATION 122 Prescott Passive House 125 CHAPTER 8 Heating and Cooling Systems 125 PRINCIPLES OF HEATING, VENTILATION, AND AIR-CONDITIONING (HVAC) SYSTEMS 127 HEATING SYSTEMS 139 GROUND COOLING SYSTEMS 140 HEAT TRANSFER/RECOVERY SYSTEMS 144 English Residence

7 147 CHAPTER 9 Healthy Indoor Environments 147 BUILDINGS AND COMFORT 149 INDOOR AIR QUALITY 153 MATERIALS AND IAQ 159 THERMAL COMFORT 160 VISUAL COMFORT 163 ACOUSTIC QUALITY 169 CHAPTER 10 Water Efficiency th Avenue South 169 A NEED FOR CONSERVATION 170 COMPONENTS OF A WATER SYSTEM 171 STRATEGIES FOR WATER EFFICIENCY 172 WATER-SAVING TECHNOLOGIES 174 ADDITIONAL WATER-SAVING METHODS 177 CONSUMER HABITS 183 CHAPTER 11 Green Roofs 179 Solar Umbrella 183 CLASSIFICATION OF GREEN ROOFS 186 ADVANTAGES OF GREEN ROOFS 189 CONSTRUCTION PRINCIPLES AND COMPONENTS 194 Euclid Avenue House 199 CHAPTER 12 Edible Landscaping and Xeriscaping 199 DWELLING LANDSCAPES AND CONSUMPTION 201 ALTERNATIVES TO CONVENTIONAL LANDSCAPES 201 EDIBLE LANDSCAPES 210 XERISCAPING 214 Ross Street House 217 CHAPTER 13 Waste Management and Disposal 217 WASTE GENERATION 218 POSTCONSUMER WASTE MANAGEMENT OPTIONS 223 DIVERSION OF WASTE 224 COMMUNITY-BASED SOCIAL MARKETING 225 CHANGING BEHAVIOR 233 BIBLIOGRAPHY 228 Seatrain Residence 241 ILLUSTRATION CREDITS 243 CASE STUDY PROJECTS TEAM 245 CASE STUDY PROJECTS PHOTOGRAPHERS 247 INDEX

8 PREFACE Current modes of dwelling design face challenges of both philosophy and form. Over the past half century, homes and communities have been built with disregard for nature while exhausting resources during construction and occupancy. Society also faces mounting economic challenges, forcing the need for solutions with smaller price tags. Demographic and cultural transformations led by a large elderly population require designers to conceive of housing prototypes that respond innovatively to new users and fluctuating trends. Sustainable is a term that best captures these new sought-after directions. The thrust of sustainable thinking in its most rudimentary form is that one needs to regard the future consequences of present actions. We can no longer assume that wealth, be it monetary or natural, will last forever. Polluting air, water, or soil will have lasting consequences and can drive flora and fauna to extinction. A call to adopt sustainable practices is not new. Background theories and principles have been articulated over the past decades. Yet, their application has been slow in coming, in spite of the urgent need for change. Policy makers and practitioners are wrapping their minds around the fact that society has passed a point of no return. Old ways are beginning to give way to new approaches. The building profession is no exception. In North America, during construction the built environment consumes some 40 percent of all natural resources used, and when occupied, 30 percent of all energy consumed. Since residential construction traditionally accounts for about 35 percent of all building activity, it is evident that homes make significant contributions to the consumption of resources and energy. It has, therefore, become clear that the design of tomorrow s dwellings must employ a new thought process, and their construction, a different practice. The level of resources consumed in the building and use of a structure must be considered at every stage of its conception and construction. It also needs to be designed to accommodate transformation once the useful life of its components comes to an end. In addition, a new partnership must be forged between homes and their surrounding natural environment. Topography, water streams, flora, and fauna should be preserved once the decision to build has been made. Designers and developers are recognizing that building with nature can be an asset rather than a hindrance. This book takes part in charting a new course in residential design. It considers the delicate relationship between the home and the natural environment and provides the basic knowledge necessary to create a livable, sustainable, healthy home. The options for choosing materials, location, and design can be daunting. For example, certain materials, like aluminum, consume large amounts of energy in their manufacturing and processing, yet their use requires little maintenance throughout their life cycles. This book will help ix

9 x PREFACE you navigate the increasingly complex world of residential green building. It combines successful existing principles with new ones and highlights commonsense ideas that have too often been overlooked. Offering ideas cannot be complete without illustrating them with applications. Each chapter features a contemporary project whose designers strove to achieve sustainability while adhering to real-world constraints. The chapters have been arranged to walk the reader systematically through the design and construction stages. Chapter 1 describes basic principles of sustainability, available resources, and common green-building certification methods. Chapter 2 discusses key planning considerations in siting a home, including climate, passive solar gain, wind direction, and preservation of flora, fauna, and topography. Prior to delving into the more technical aspects of home design, chapter 3 stresses that sustainable solutions are not necessarily only technological. The chapter illustrates several concepts that focus on social, economic, and cultural aspects, such as aging in place and multigenerational living. Chapter 4 discusses unit-planning principles of a general nature. Shape, overall size, height, and relation to other units and interior spatial organization are elaborated. In chapter 5, the design of an improved building envelope is discussed, as well as efficient framing, construction details, and prefabrication. In chapter 6, an examination of building materials shows how to evaluate their sustainability through a step-by-step process. Chapter 7 focuses on energy-efficient windows to provide a guideline for their selection and installation. Chapter 8 reviews various heating and cooling systems to point out their efficiency and constraints. Chapter 9 examines aspects related to indoor air quality and suggests alternative design strategies and products that can reduce harmful emissions while improving comfort. Chapter 10 looks into water efficiency. It examines sources of water consumption and suggests various strategies for their management. Designing green roofs is the topic of chapter 11. It offers classifications and examines their benefits, construction principles, and applications. Chapter 12 examines alternative landscaping methods. Edible landscapes and xeriscaping are the topics of study here, along with principles and applications. Finally, chapter 13 discusses sustainable waste management and disposal to point out methods of composting and recycling, among others. Sustainability in the residential environment is likely to be achieved when a comprehensive approach to design that includes many of the above-noted subjects is taken. Yet, considering and applying all of these aspects may not be feasible for all projects. Applying some of these aspects will no doubt stand to make a difference as well.

10 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The study of the subjects outlined in the book and their application spans several years and involves many people who have contributed to generating and articulating these ideas. My thanks to them all and apologies to those whose names I accidentally omitted. A report called Greening the Grow Home, which was funded by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, planted the seed and laid the foundation for the writing of this book. The research team included Vince Cammalleri, Jim Nicell, Francois Dufaux, Joanne Green, Susan Fisher, Aud Koht, Kevin Lee, Aryan Lirange, Denis Palin, Mark Somers, Nicola Bullock, and Michelle Takoff. Additional background research and contribution to the information and the writing assembled here were made by Thi Ngoc Diem Nguyen and Linda Zhang, whose dedication and hard work are truly appreciated. Stephanie Huss researched and contributed to the Sustainable Residential Design Concepts chapter and its figures. Nancy Serag- Eldin offered highly valued constructive criticism, proofreading, verification and updating of the accuracy of the data, and ideas for the figures. Rainier Silva contributed to the research and conception of the figures in the Healthy Indoor Environments chapter, and Maria Garcia to the Building Materials chapter. Ji (Cayte) Yeon Kim coordinated the case-studies part of each chapter. She obtained information, organized it meticulously, and redrew some of the drawings displayed here. Her attention to accuracy and quality is much appreciated. Special thanks to Elisa Costa, who patiently and with utmost dedication drew most of the figures in the book. Elisa s work complemented work done by Jeff Jerome. Special thanks is extended to Nyd Garavito-Bruhn. Nyd s hard work and dedication in organizing the data and providing editorial comments and touching up all the figures were vital to the production of this volume. To all the architectural firms who graciously agreed to let us use their work and to the photographers who took the photos, thank you. Their names are listed at the end of the book. To the Faculty of Engineering at McGill University and the Summer Undergraduate Research in Engineering (SURE) grant program who, for two years, supported the work of some of the research team members many thanks. Also, much appreciation to the McGill School of Architecture for offering an environment where many of the thoughts expressed here have been developed and articulated. To Heather Boyer, a senior editor at Island Press, who saw the value in having such a book, and Courtney Lix and Sharis Simonian who shepherded this book to publication, many thanks. This vote of thanks will not be complete without embracing my family, Sorel Friedman, PhD, Paloma, who proofread the text, and Ben. Endless thanks for your love and understanding. xi

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