An overview of the author's property for the competition. The house sits in a condo development, with the 'loop and lollipop' structure. It also lies next to the aqueduct and some habitat and bike paths.
The Suburbia Transformed competition challenged entrants to critically revisit ideas of the first modernist suburban landscape designers. The first designer had to work with severely constrained budgets, and be inventive about how to transform environments. In this case study proposal in the desert, a typical condo is transformed using green systems, construction materials from the Home Depot on the block, and reuse/reallocation of on site materials. The result is a home nearly net zero in operation with a high water efficiency used to grow local food and increase habitat. Ken McCown with Ambrose Luk, 2009.
An image of the backyard - area to be the focus of the design.
Project context.
Site analysis and inventory of the property as it exists.
Water systems analysis - influenced by Scottsdale Sustainable Systems Inventory.
The utility provider had home energy analysis for the home, and NREL offered low-cost evaluated opportunities for solar power for the home to make it net zero with information taken from their online tools.
An energy analysis of the house and context. Most energy is used inefficiently for heating/cooling and water heating. These also take a substantial amount of total energy use.
The new plan includes most of the design placed in the backyard, freed from covenant restrictions. The backyard is on the north side of the property, making it comfortable for work in the heat. Cool towers take care of cooling needs in the house. Built out of cmu's from Home Depot, they can support the solar panels that give electricity to the home.
Heating and cooling of water and air are taken care of by cool towers, solar electricity and solar hot water. Solar hot water collector faces southeast to get the morning sun for hot water in the shower.
The cool towers are sized to the spaces inside of the house. They cool the living and working spaces of the house, along with the main bedroom. They also cool and humidify the plans, necessary in the hot desert.
Fixtures in the house that can provide greywater. As landscaping uses over three quarters of desert homes' water, distribution of the water in front can support the landscaping.
Water harvesting from the roof can supply water needs for the front landscape, and nearly all of the needs for the vegetable garden to be built out back.
As the car will no longer be a part of the household, the driveway is sliced up and used to make planters in the back. An existing compost pile will be mixed with earth dug out for the foundations of the cool towers snf patio area. No earth needs to leave or be brought to the site.
Plants are put in the planter according to the seasonal shade provided by the cool towers. Plants in the desert actually need shade. The unused jacuzzi is repurposed as a fish pond/water feature. Fruit trees already exist on site, and native plants are already coming back into the landscape due to a 'lack of maintenance.' These native plants have already brought native wildlife, and local cats coming to prey upon the new creatures.
A view of the planting schedule - a variety of crops can be grown on the home site throughout the year, with protein coming from the fish pond.