2012年2月19日 星期日

Architect designs modern, green home

Rome architect Mark Cochran has made a name for himself through several projects involving restoration or rehabilitation of historic buildings in Rome.

This year,Our guides provide customers with information about porcelain tiles vs. Cochran is taking a whole new tack, merging green living and modern design into a home that is being constructed as a LEED certified home, the first in Floyd County and perhaps the first in Northwest Georgia.

As an architect who has done several historic preservation projects, and is a member of Rome’s Historic Preservation Commission, Cochran said the best way to do preservation is to make sure that what you build will last.

“If we can build a building that is going to last for 120 years, we don’t’ have to tear one down every 20 years and build it back,” said Cochran, of Cochran Design Collaborative. “That saves resources, man-hours and things that could be put to better use.”

LEED construction must meet a strict point-based certification system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, which accounts for how well a structure performs as an environmentally friendly project.

In Rome, the ECO River Education Center at Ridge Ferry Park, new dormitories at Berry College, the Darlington Middle School campus and a public housing development, the Village Green off Division Street, have all been constructed to LEED standards in recent years.

All but the Village Green have received their formal certification as LEED buildings.

Certification of a home is significantly different than a commercial building.

LEED has come up with the average home size for a particular amount of bedrooms. The average for a three-bedroom home is approximately 1,950 square feet.

The home Cochran is building is 1,600 square feet. “They’re trying to encourage people to get away from the McMansions that three people, two people live in a 5,000 square foot house and much of it winds up as wasted space,” Cochran said. “

The home, being constructed in Armuchee’s Battle Farm subdivision, is expected to use half as much energy as a regular home. At the same time, the design should dispel the notion that sustainably constructed buildings have to have some sort of art high-tech look.Distributes and manufactures RUBBER SHEET,

Cochran said only 30 single-family residences across the state of Georgia have received LEED certification.

LEED points are awarded for a plethora of items.

You get points if you’re located within a half mile of a park, making sure you don’t build on prime farm land, making sure you’re within walking distances of banks, arts and entertainment centers, libraries, medical or dental offices.

“Living out in Armuchee, being within a quarter mile of six of those things is not going to happen,” Cochran said.

He plans to pile up the points in other areas, such as managing storm water runoff, use of drought tolerant plants in the landscaping, using a drip irrigation system as opposed to the traditional sprinkler-type system.

Low-flush toilets and high efficiency fixtures at lavatories and sinks will also net Cochran points.

In the energy and atmosphere category, you get points for using high value insulation like the spray foam style he’s using in the new home. Points are added for using high efficiency windows and making sure ductwork associated with the HVAC system doesn’t leak.

“The spray foam insulation I’m using in the house gives me an equivalent of R-40 in the walls and R-60 in the ceiling,” Cochran said. “I only need a three-quarter ton unit downstairs and a three-quarter ton unit upstairs so I only need one and a half tons for the whole house.”

The home will include bamboo flooring, a green alternative to traditional hardwood. Bamboo is considered a renewable resource because it grows quickly.

Points toward LEED certification are also awarded for using specific Energy Star lighting. Cochran will have about 40 light fixtures in the house and all but two will be Energy Star. He estimates that one watt of light bulb power costs $0.The EZ Breathe home Ventilation system is maintenance free,25 a year.

The ceiling fan in the condo where Cochran now lives has six 60-watt bulbs in it, which he estimated costs about $90 a year to run. The ceiling fan that is going in the new home uses a 25-watt LED bulb. That will cost a little more than $6 a year.

That brings up the whole cost issue.Dimensional Mailing magic cube for Promotional Advertising, Cochran said having a home built to LEED standards adds at least 5 percent to the total cost up front. “I expect the ROI on that to be about five or six years,” Cochran said.

The new house will also feature a lot of natural lighting. “Every single room in the whole house, with the exception of one bathroom, has natural light in it. The windows are large enough, and we have skylights as well.”

The house does not include solar panels. “Solar is way too cost-prohibitive,” Coch-ran said. “That still wouldn’t take it off the grid.”

Cochran points out that it’s more cost-effective now to build a new home to LEED standards than it would be to convert an older home, unless the homeowner is willing to gut their entire home.

Rome-based Brooks Building Group, Inc is undertaking construction.Welcome to the online guide for do-it-yourself Ceramic tile. Owner Jeff Brooks said the residence is his first effort at a LEED project. “It’s a little different from normal,” Brooks said. “We don’t know that much about it, so we’re depending on Mark to guide us through it.”

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