|
Assistant Georgia Tech professor Michael Gamble's firm, G+G Architects, took first prize in the Kendeda competition calling for a sustainable home that would be built in Atlanta with a budget of $125,000.
"This is a big step in the right direction for Atlanta — environmentally sensitive, affordable, work force housing," said Gamble. "We liked the competition brief the first time we read it — really challenging. The discussions around the subject of health and the environment continue to influence all of our projects."
The competition was sponsored by Chairs Community Housing, Southface Energy Institute and the Atlanta Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
G+G's winning entry, which will be constructed in the Grant Park neighborhood in Atlanta, was designed to create a variety of indoor and outdoor public, social and private spaces. "The living room is the nexus of all activities in the house," said Gamble. "It interacts with every space on the site from the most public to the most private."
The firm designed movable wall panels throughout the house to create a variety of family sizes and social arrangements. The roof, made of recycled metal, directs the flow of rainwater to on-site storage tanks. Ramps instead of stairs take up the grade from the house to a garden and a grove.
"The private backyard is enclosed on three sides by the house and is configured in such a way as to preserve the existing grove of trees," said Gamble. "The grove functions as the coolest outdoor area of the site and one of the most private. And roof water is stored in a simple cistern. Rainwater, stored in the cisterns, distributes water to the vegetable garden via drip lines in between rain showers."
|
