green_house_1

proposed addition and alteration for a house in homestead park, johannesburg

the clients' brief was the renovation of an existing house, and the brief included the construction of an entire new storey, ie first floor.
the project will also include green design elements, such as roof overhangs, solar geysers, energy efficient lighting, grey water recycling, rain water collection and the use of environmentally friendly building materials.

sunlight on the east-west facades is maximized through specially placed windows, which take advatage of the rising/setting sun's properties, yet protect the inhabitants from the same sun's unpleasant properties.
sunlight on the northern facade is maximised through large openings which are themself protected by the roof overhang of approx 700mm. direct sunlight, which is harmful and contributes unnecessary heat to the building, is blocked by the roof overhang. this ensures a pleasant light quality to all north facing rooms. the formal loung on the ground floor is not afforded any protection by the roof overhang, and instead relies on a sliding timber screen to keep the harmful sun out of the house, and serve as protection to the furniture etc.

the south facade comprises large windows which take advatage of the brilliant reflected light quality on offer to those rooms.

the grey water recycling unit collects and purifies all run-off water from baths, showers, basins and sinks, and purifies the water so that it can be used to flush all the toilets in the house. the neccessity of this stems from toilets being the highest consumer of water in domestic houses. why flush clean, pure drinking water down the toilet, when you can flush down water of the same quality and but you have already paid for. you can now flush your toilet for free!

rain water is collected on site and used in irrigating the garden as well as in the swimming pool.

the use of energy-efficient led lighting can cut your monthly lighting bill by up to 50%, and on average these led globes last for 15-20 years.

...for more environtal information and queries, as well as the construction of your own simple green home, please feel free to contact us.