Project Description
FROM THE ARCHITECTS:
The Blue Spruce Habitat for Humanity Duplex was designed to raise the standards of homes built for the under-served. Focusing on three main tenets, Energy & Sustainability, Livability, and Constructability, the duplex design demonstrates a high-performance, high quality home can be built with volunteer labor on a difficult to access site and moderate budget.
This duplex has received numerous accolades and honors creating exposure that extended beyond the architectural community and engaged people from all walks of life, illuminating the possibilities available for volunteer-built housing.
• Three unique modules allow the design to be adapted for use on different sites with minimal redesign.
• The duplex earned a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) score of 31, meaning it uses 31 percent of the energy of a similar sized home built to meet minimum energy code requirements. The home is photovoltaic and solar-thermal ready – once installed, the home is expected to achieve a HERS score of 15.
• SIP walls and roofs enable an air-tight and highly insulated envelope.
• The design utilizes a super insulated envelope to cope with a cold micro-climate on a north facing mountain slope.
• A movement module, service module, and living module are arranged to maximize useful floor area and minimize total volume.
• Shed form, massing, and material selection work together to bring light and views into the home and are consistent with the Colorado mountain vernacular.
• Because of its climatically harsh location, durable and fire-resistant materials have been selected including a metal roof and fiber-cement board siding