It is imperative that new buildings reflect our current understanding of climate change, the health and wellbeing of occupants, and care for surrounding communities and the planet. 4NET-0 integrates modern Architecture, modern performance, and modern thinking.
Pushing past merely applying a list of technologies, 4NET-0 wholistically integrates high performance practices with expressed passive solar shading to create a home that is beautiful, supremely energy efficient, comfortable, daylit, quiet, healthy, and resilient.
The home is organized around daylight, privacy, and energy efficiency. The south side hosts living and sleeping spaces; daylit and shaded passively/seasonally by the louver structure above. The north side is topped by a ribbon window and the wall below provides privacy from neighboring homes. Inside the north side, an air, light and person circulation shaft occupies all three levels, allowing air movement and north light penetration through the open stairwell. The two-story screens on the west side define the architecture, simultaneously creating private outdoor living/dining areas suspended above the street level and blocking out the harsh heat load of the west sun.
4NET-0 material selections are considerate of supply chains, carbon footprints, and occupant health without sacrificing beauty and performance. High carbon footprint materials like concrete were minimized, e.g. factory-made basement walls rest on gravel footings. Petroleum based products were shunned, e.g. insulation is mineral wool and locally recycled dense pack cellulose. Carbon sequestering wood framing, flooring, decking and screening were selected. The exterior utilizes durable, low-maintenance materials, e.g. steel, Hardie panel, stucco, and thermally modified wood.
4NET-0 utilizes high-performance Passive Building Principles. Mass timber columns make 12” walls with deep cavities for high R value insulation without thermal bridges. An intelligent, airtight membrane and triple-paned, thermally broken windows make an envelope requiring less HVAC and less PV to achieve net-0, for to a much smaller carbon footprint over the building’s lifetime operation. A single 1.25 ton, air-source heat pump provides HVAC and domestic hot water, distributed with optimized piping, eliminating wasted water/wasted energy. An ERV circulates fresh filtered air and exhausts stale air. Utilizing only electric appliances, HVAC and LED lighting, the home embodies a petroleum free future.
Category:Sustainable HousesYear:2023Location:Raleigh, North Carolina, USAArchitects:REdesign.build Lead Architect: Will AlphinClient: REdesign.buildPhotographer: Keith Isaacs
