Geographic
Site
Sussex, New Jersey is a rural area with many local parks as well as a state park. Multiple schools are located nearby and local food farmer’s markets aren’t a rare occurrence. Sussex is located in a zone 5 plant area, lending itself to plentiful vegetation growth of both deciduous and coniferous plants.
Climate
Massing
Shadow Analysis
Based on the area that the most shadows fall on throughout the year the majority of the building will have to lie in the center-front portion on the site.
Initial Building Massing
Surrounding homes are generally two story houses so to fit in with the area, the building will have a separate floor for each family, stacked on each other. The floor intended for six will be on the ground floor, so elderly don’t have to use the stairs. As the floors go up, each gets smaller so there is outside roof area for the second two floors that can be utilized.
Layout
As activities move throughout the day, the rooms in which they are located in are in the area that receives the most sunlight. The bedrooms and bathrooms are located on the eastern side of the building so that in the waking hours they receive the most sunlight. The work space is located on the southern and western walls so that it receives light during the mid-day. The kitchen and dining rooms, used mostly at night for those who don’t work from home, are located in the north western side to capture the evening light.
Energy Approach
There will be three main energy reduction approaches. On the roof of the top floor will be photo voltaics. Because the majority of the surrounding buildings are one to two stories high, this roof has little shading and receives sunlight during a large portion of the day. The first and second story’s roofs are shaded for a larger portion of the day, so living machines will be placed on them. Living machines are gardens that filter out pollutants in water so it can be reused. These gardens can be placed so as to improve the roof aesthetically as well, but still leave space for the occupants to use the roof. Because these gardens are being placed on roofs, they also help insulate the building, keeping the roof cool from the sun in the summer and insulate the building from losing heat in the winter. The third method to be implemented is rainwater reuse. In new Jersey there is a large amount of precipitation throughout the year. By sloping the roofs slightly, the rainwater can be caught in gutters and filtered into a storage tank to be used for various applications in the building. Besides these three main aspects, passive heating and cooling techniques will be put into place, such as cross ventilation, seasonal shading, thermal mass, and such.
Materials
Materials to be used include green products, such as carbon negative cement, low VOC paints and products, and insulation; as well as local products, such as wood and stone.
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