Description

The Green Show House is a brick row house in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, originally built around 1900. The last renovation performed in the 1950′s was cheaply done. Gutting the house made the most green sense. The upper portion of the house features a triplex and the lower portion a duplex. It was rebuilt using the strictest green concepts. The goal was to meet three criteria: no waste, no materials, no energy. We didn’t achieve the goal but we came close.

No waste describes our aim to avoid creating any garbage during the renovation process. We tried to reuse as many materials as possible, either in the show house or in future projects. No materials means just that; we reduced the amount of new materials to almost zero. Everything was salvaged or made. No energy characterizes a house that requires almost no gas and electricity to function. Solar thermal, solar PV and efficient systems and insulation make this goal of zero energy achievable.

As a result, the building process actually consumes more “garbage” than it creates.  Building removes resources from waste production, instead of contributing to the process. No stresses are made upon the world’s resources. Additionally, by not consuming energy once built, the Green Show House also helps the environment. We maximize these elements so the house actually becomes a producer of energy.

The main green tenet involves consuming as little as possible. We reduce the impact on the earth by reusing and salvaging all possible materials. This means less material has to be made for the job. If that is not possible we use recycled and green products. Many of our materials come from dumpsters and from the debris of other job sites.