I’ve got a lot of respect for William McDonough. Though he can come off as a blow hard sometimes when it comes to the environment, he’s one of the few people who has been a constant proponent, and purveyor, of true sustainability, and an unabashed outspoken critic of greenwashed dribble. Unlike the many other architects now turning shades of green, merely because design is trending as such, McDonough has always embraced sustainability for the fundamentally right reason; the Earth.
Cradle To Cradle
Ever since I read he and Michael Braungart’s book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
McDonough likes to look at materials as nutrients for either natural or technical cycles. Technical nutrients are those inorganic or man-made manufactured materials that can be reused within the same cycle over and over again without having to comprise their quality or properties i.e. steel, certain plastics, etc. Natural, or biological, nutrients are organic materials that require no extra steps or processes to completely return to the Earth i.e. wood or any other compostable material. The idea behind viewing materials in this way is to ensure that whatever is being used is sustainable in one of two ways. This ability of materials to be reused, or returned to their natural state, again and again within a closed loop is what McDonough call Cradle To Cradle (C2C).
The House That Can ‘Not Be A House’ Again
McDonough + Partners latest entry into Brad Pitt’s Lower 9th Ward revitalization foundation Make It Right, is an example of C2C being applied to a residential structure. The Flow House, as it’s named, looks to natural systems for inspiration as well as the ideas and ideals of the Lower 9th Ward and New Orleans. The structure is a duplex with the primary residence consisting of two rectangular forms stacked parallel on top of each other and the rear secondary ‘rental unit’ comprised in the perpendicular real segment.
The Flow House incorporates a number of sustainable design elements. Some these include:
- Photosynthetic roof surfaces utilizing thin film PV to generate solar power
- Solar thermal hot water heating
- Vegetated green roof
- Rain capture with cistern storage
- Metal structurally insulated panels (SIPs)
- Passive solar design
- High fly ash concrete
- FSC-certified wood
- Gypsum-free, mold resistant, low VOC drywall
- Low to zero VOC interior finishes
While the green design and features of the home are what we’ve come to expect from a sustainably built structure, the home itself is essentially 100% C2C. All of the materials specified to be used in the home’s construction are either biological or technical nutrients that can be reused an infinite number of times. To assume that this would indeed happen at the end of the Flow Houses’ life-cycle would probably be a stretch, but the guiding philosophy behind the construction of it is fundamentally and truly sustainable.
The Good: A well thought out and sustainably designed duplex that incorporates not only McDonough’s Cradle To Cradle ideals, but New Orleans’ architectural typologies and natural environment.
The Bad: Design aesthetics may not appeal to a large segment of residents who may prefer traditional New Orleans architecture. Still only a concept with no immediate plans to build. Though politically incorrect, one does have to seriously question the sustainability of a city that lies well below sea level; especially when those seas are expected to rise even further.
The Bottom-Line: A solid sustainable design that takes into account the environment as well as the region’s aesthetics and lifestyle.
OUR SUSTAINABILITY RATING:
YOUR SUSTAINABILITY RATING:
Related Posts:
Follow us on Twitter and join us on Facebook. While you're at it, subscribe to our feed as well!
Discussion
View Comments for “McDonough + Partners Bring Real Sustainable Design To New Orleans”