Community Center Program

Lobby/ Exhibition - 1500 - 2000 sf total
- Permanent Sustainable collection
- Community exhibits
Shops and Stores - 2000 - 2400 sf total
- Coffee shop (connected to lobby and street) - 600-700 sf
- Book shop (connected to lobby and street) - 700-1000 sf
- Random shop (connected to lobby and street) - 600-700 sf
Auditorium - Flexible - 12,000 - 14,000 sf total
- Seating - 8000 sf
- Stage - 2000 sf
- Storage rooms - 600 sf each
- Back stage - 800 sf
- Green room - 600 sf
Gymnasium - Flexible - 8000 - 9000 sf total
- Basketball court (94x50) - 5000 sf
- Seating - 3000 sf
- Storage - 800 sf
Nursery - 800 - 900 sf total
Daycare - 2600 - 3000 sf total
- Classroom/ Nap room (30 sf per child) - 800 - 900 sf
- Small gym/ Play area (70 sf per child) - 1800 - 2100 sf
Library - 1200 - 1400 sf total
- Main room - 900 - 1000 sf
- Offices - 100 sf
- Storage - 200 - 300 sf
Classrooms (12) - 400 - 500 sf each = 4800 -6000 sf total
Fitness Center - 1750 - 2300 sf total
- Weight room - 600 - 800 sf
- Aerobic room - 400 - 600 sf
- Men’s Locker room - 250 - 300 sf
- Women’s Locker room - 250 - 300 sf
- Saunas, Jacuzzis - 250 - 300 sf
Banquet/Reception Hall - 6500 - 8200 sf
- Main Hall - 5000 - 6000 sf
- Kitchen - 400 - 600 sf
- Food Pantry - 300 - 400 sf
- Bar - 400 - 600 sf
- Storage - 400 - 600 sf
Sport Fields

TOTAL AREA - 31,150 - 39,200 square feet

Case Studies

There are many designs today which use advanced passive and active technology. Unfortunately the general public do not know what is available. The Boomerang House, which was proposed by a group of architects from Italy, is an advanced design composed of both technology and more traditional concepts. It was designed to be flexible which allows the building to have many usages and replacements in various environmental contexts. It is a single family unit which is built on an abandoned mining cave. The building itself is composed of two separate aerodynamic volumes sharpened to adapt to strong winds and also to fit into the ground. One structure is the living space and the other contains the technological elements and a small greenhouse which are uses as passive and active strategies. The surface of the structure consists of two layers, one made of Photovoltaic panels and the other consisting of solar cylindrical panels. These Two layers work together with the shape of the buildings that follows the solar journey of the sun. The house is cooled by a water wall which cools the water during the summer nights and draws it over the wall during the day to cool the interior of the building. Another self-sustaining house, but hasn’t been built yet is called Saving Resources. The building makes use of photovoltaic panels in a way which provides a 24 hour use of electricity. The building is heated and cooled according to the climatic season. It contains septic tanks which can also be used for recycled gas the winter. The building holds several hand wind tower fans for cooling in the summer. Many of the main materials used for construction are supplied by recycled materials from the everyday garbage. This reduces the energy used to import non-local materials to the building site. Another building which uses some of the state of the art passive and active systems is the Jalousie house. This house is designed by two Russian architects, Nikita Barinov and Komba Bakh. The house was based off the idea behind the “sunflower. The way in which the sunflower follows the sun during the day, so does the house. The defending constructions of the house are built so that they capture the suns movement. The design allows sunlight to penetrate the house while it accumulates the sun energy at the same time. Water is stored under the ground to keep cool and pumped up to the upper floor with a pump that is powered by the suns energy. The water is then passed through the wall which has the form of a hollow transparent construction. The water falls down the wall, rotating a mini-turbine which produces power for the winter months when there is no sun. These buildings, being technologically advanced and saving considerable amount of money on energy, have not gained much interest in the public.

Pin-up #3 review

Research Case studies of sustainable design: Gaffney house, Sustainable communities, and houses which portray design intentions. Review which age groups will be attending and activies for each. How is it accessible? And look at scales by diagramatic suggestions and materials.

Summary 6

Since world war II, housing developers have been ever increasingly popular. The houses themselves have improved slightly since then but they still are unsustainable. Most developers use low grade construction methods and materials to create houses which bring in the highest revenue as possible. These housing ethics are responsible for; 39% of the total energy use, 12% of the total water consumption, 68% of the total electricity consumption, and 38% of the total carbon dioxide emission. A large reason for the public not wanting sustainable housing is that they are uneducated about the advantages. By creating a community center within the context of a development or several developments, one could use it to educate the public about advantages of sustainability. This would be more successful than a prototype house because a community center has a constant flow of a wide range of people within the community. By educating the public and helping them make the move to a sustainable future, the advantages could be; 20% annual savings in energy costs, 20% reduction in water costs, 38% reduction in waste water production, and 22% reduction in construction waste.

I. Introduction
___A. Development of land is inevitable with the growing population and migration of people from the city to the suburbs
___B. Toll Brothers housing
______1. They Build houses which use low end materials and design and sell them at high end rates.
________a. Why do consumers buy these houses?
________b. Many of these houses begin to break down(Fall apart aesthetically and functionally) after about 5-10 years. Why?
______2. Construction methods
________a. Use bare minimum of materials
________b. Use most inefficient heating and cooling systems
II. Program: Community center
___A. Active Facilities
______1. Nursery/ Daycare
______2. Small gym
______3. Education rooms/sleeping rooms
___B. Day Camp
______1. Large gym
______2. Class rooms
______3. Outdoor recreation
___C. Small shops/stores (coffee, food, books) with access to a gallery
______1. Coffee and food shops could bring in commuters passing by
______2. Bookstore could sell books on sustainability
___D. Community outreach facilities
______1. Educational facilities
________a. Classrooms which teach community about sustainability
________b. Lectures on Sustainability
________c. Large auditorium/ gym (maybe flexible spaces)
______2. Small group programs: AA, community outreach programs, etc.
________a. Small rooms for meeting spaces
______3. Recreational Facilities
________a. Walking path to connect with development
________b. Indoor and outdoor sporting facilities
______4. Active community spaces
________a. Large indoor areas for rent
___________1. Reception space
___________2. Personal parties
III. Conclusion
___A. By using a combination of traditional strategies of sustainability and the latest advances in technology in a community building, it may demonstrate to the public the successfulness and advantages of sustainable living.
___B. Educating the public through seminars, lectures and optional classes to explain the disadvantages of traditional American houses and the savings available with sustainable living.
___C. Have workshops and classes on showing the public methods and technologies available to convert their existing house of building new houses to become sustainable.

Toll Brothers Dissections

Toll brother and many other housing developers claim to offer quality materials with superior design for their houses. Among these claims are preservation of natural landscape (which is justified by installment of golf courses) and the preservation of as much open space as possible. This is a counterstatement of what they do. They come in and develop as much land as possible for their own profit. Their biggest selling option is the design it yourself options which takes a base house design and allows the user to make small changes such as separated toilet space and high hats for lighting. Unfortunately their designs don’t bring the quality that the buyer believes he or she is getting. Toll Brothers construction methods and materials are below standard and many times fail to meet standards set by the state code. The larges reason for this is because they want to optimize their profit. By doing so they tend to hire low end contractors which work for low wages and demand that they finish in a minimum amount of time. There construction methods are also below standard. They look at the minimum requirement for the code and build houses to barely pass them. For example, many toll brothers houses do not have an exterior vapor barrier and apply vinyl siding directly on top of Celotex (used for sheathing on the majority of the home) or Oriented strand board (used for sheathing on very few toll brothers homes). This allows moisture enter the house and eventually rotting out the framing. It also allows winter winds to penetrate the building and will create an increased heat loss during the winter. As for the rest of the house, OSB is most commonly used for the floor sheathing and roof sheathing. This can cause health problems in poorly ventilated houses due to the amount of formaldehyde found in OSB. Within the walls, toll brothers will use the minimum amount of insulation as possible to save on money. This can cause heat loss problems in the winter. The windows in Toll brothers tend to be Anderson windows which is a very good brand of windows. This is a visual and mental (people know the name Anderson) selling point of the house. These might be well designed and built windows, but they serve no purpose. The windows in toll Brothers houses have no conception to the placement for heating and cooling. They are mainly randomly placed throughout the house to look visually appealing. This can cause major heat loss in the winter due to northern exposure and unwanted heat gain in the summer months. This causes heaters and air-conditioners to work a lot harder and consume more energy to heat the house to a comfortable temperature. On top of everything else, these housing development have no concern for the natural environment or environmental pollution.

Survey

Recently a survey was done in Massachusetts on several Toll Brothers houses during construction by the Glob Spotlight Team at the Hopkinton Highlands development. The houses which were surveyed all failed the standards of the construction building codes provided by the state. They found out that walls were not properly secured to foundation and there were inadequate supports for load bearing beams (these were changed to wood from steel requirement to save money for toll brothers). Among these problems were how the brick was poorly built to the extent that it was already causing interior water problems. Even though Toll Brothers claim to provide “Exceptional energy efficiency”, the buildings surveyed did not meet the minimum state standards. The houses used inferior materials and sloppy construction methods. Also due to cheap exterior finishes such as Dryvit Stucco and vinyl siding (without vapor barriers), many already built houses in the development were already showing signs of rotting in the framing. This Substandard home development is a growing national problem in the United States. Therefore many developers, including Toll Brothers, will not sell a house without the client signing a waiver for their right to bring lawsuits. This way they can use cheap labor, inferior materials and low quality design to create “Productive Homes” and not quality homes.

Progress

in the past 2 days i have been looking at the way in which residential housing developments are designed and built and what they look at to make them work. I am hoping it will give me a good direction in ways to make a sustainable design appeal to the public. I have found 2 books at the library on malcolm wells and will be picking them up today at temple. As for the disection of toll brothers housing, i am working on finding information, but only find sites published by toll brothers. But i do have previous knoledge of their houses from then ive worked on them. Ive seen the materials used when i did demo on them.

Sustainable education

America is quickly running into a crisis with environmental issues. One major issue is the amount of fossil fuels left in the world. Scientist believe that the world has depleted itself of half its supply of fossil fuels, most of that consumption being in the last 25 years. They believe that if there is not a major change, we will use up our supply in about 36 years. American houses make up large amount of environmental consumption and waste. American houses are responsible for the following:

39% of the total energy use
12% of the total water consumption
68% of the total electricity consumption
38% of the total carbon dioxide emission
30% of raw material use

Building developers such as Toll Brothers have only increased this consumption by buildings unsustainable housing which use the minimum amount of materials needed and the most inefficient mechanical equipment. The designs also pay no attention to sun orientation or working with microclimates within the context of the building. Why do they build houses like these? Its simple so that they can gain the highest profit at the bare minimum cost for construction. People buy these houses because they do not understand poor construction process for these buildings and are unaware of the options available to create sustainable buildings. These low end homes which increasing annually are consuming most of our suburban communities and land. The development of these areas are inevitable with the growing population. Studies show that in order to meet population growth in each states, 220,000 housing units would have to be added annually until 2020. Therefore communities need to be educated about building sustainable homes. There needs to be a way to help communities ask the right questions as the seek to identify sustainable policies. By building on a community space on a site that will relate to the way in which housing developments are placed, One can visually educate the public. A community site will allow a constant flow of a variety of people to the building. This building will then be able to create a sustainable experience as well as providing information, classes, seminars, etc of many advantages and opportunities of sustainable building and living. It can show the public that by simply following LEED principals, the minimum conservation and savings would be as follows:

20% annual savings in energy costs
20% reduction in water costs
38% reduction in waste water production
22% reduction in construction waste

There also many other benefits to building a sustainable house that include the following: It reduces and recycles construction materials (which is less expensive that the disposal of construction waste), It makes homes more energy efficient and allows for independent power opportunities, It creates low monthly bills on water consumption, etc. By lowering water consumption, the electricity consumption also lowers because the water pump is not being used as much. By building sustainable houses, one can live a healthier life. Many houses such as toll brothers houses use low end materials which contain harmfull chemicals. For example, many plywoods (such as OSB) contain formaldehyde which are released into the indoor air. These chemicals can cause diseases such as multiple chemical sensitivity in the inhabitants of these buildings. By informing communities of disadvantages of standard home buildings and the advantages of sustainable homes, it might begin to change the way in which people view their homes and the development of future houses.

Summary

I. Preface
__A. Rural areas in the United States have been infested with mass developments
____1. Toll Brothers
__B. Land and animal habitats have been replaced by cheaply built, high energy consuming housing which pay no regard for orientation or passive strategies.
II. Program
__A. Should be oriented in a small but growing community
__B. Development of land is inevitable with the growing population and migration of people from the city to the suburbs
__C. Toll Brothers housing
____1. They Build houses which use low end materials and design and sell them at high end rates.
______a. Why do consumers buy these houses?
______b. Many of these houses begin to break down(Fall apart aesthetically and functionally) after about 5-10 years. Why?
____2. Construction methods
______a. Use bare minimum of materials
______b. Use most inefficient heating and cooling systems
__D. Why are there not more houses built sustainable?
____1. People are uneducated (more so in rural areas)
____2. More expensive initial cost (can’t see long term)
______a. Is there a way to compete economically?
______b. What would make people want to pay more for quality and sustainability?
____3. Developers don’t care about sustainability, only economics and profit.
__E. How can the public be educated?
____1. By Creating a community space which will demonstrate advantages
______a. Why a community space?
________1. Constant daily flow of people
________2. Along with visual representation and extended personal experience, it could also provide information, classes and seminars for learning about sustainability.
__________a. This approach may cause people to begin to shun inefficient developments and houses.
__________b. May cause a conscious move towards sustainability.
______b. A house prototype would only bring in people with direct interest, community space forces people involuntarily to visit the building.
____2. Use passive and active strategies to create a comfortable temperature range for the users.
III. Site
__A. Option 1: Green site
____1. Positive attributes
______a. Relates directly to rural and suburban houses and developments
______b. Give direct visual interpretation and maximizes strategies available.
______c. Allow for close placement to growing community.
______d. Allows for strategy in extending landscape into building and relating to nature.
____2. Negative attributes
______a. Loses point from LEED for not using gray field
______b. Uses up non-renewable land. But if land is going to be developed in time, by using this land, new ideas can be brought up to change the way developments use land.
__B. Option 2: Grey field
____1. Positive attributes
______a. LEED point for reusing built land
____2. Negative attributes
______a. People will relate building to commercial or city building and not to rural and suburban housing
________1. Will not relate to people
________2. Might not get message across
______b. Doesn’t relate to nature
______c. Can’t directly solve rural problems of development.