Dan Nonte, University Relations
Contact: (336) 334-4314
Posted 5-21-07
GREENSBORO, NC – The first Urban Studio course at UNCG not only provided a deserving couple with a new house, it demonstrates how innovative design can improve affordable housing.
Guided by assistant professor Robert Michel Charest, the 20 students in the fall course built a new house in the Glenwood neighborhood for Lillie and James Marshall for less than $50,000. The project, a partnership between the City of Greensboro and UNCG, was made possible by a federal grant and generous support from local businesses.
“We really raised the bar for responsible, affordable housing design,” Charest said. “This house is a laboratory. We will stay in touch with the Marshalls about how this house performs.”
Among other features rarely found in affordable housing, the new house has concrete walls. The concrete was poured into insulating concrete forms, or ICFs, which fit together like giant Styrofoam blocks. Loflin Concrete Company of Kernersville donated the forms, which became part of the finished structure, and the concrete.
Although building with the ICFs typically has a higher initial cost than traditional wood framing, it requires virtually no maintenance, an important consideration for elderly residents, and reduces utility bills by providing effective insulation, said Charest, who is an architect, carpenter and licensed builder in the Province of Québec, Canada.
In another departure from tradition, the new house lacks roof gutters. The slope of the lot naturally drains rainwater away from the house. This further reduces maintenance by eliminating the need to clean gutters, a difficult and dangerous chore for the elderly.
Then there are the eaves, where the roof meets the top of walls. Eaves are prone to leaks, increasing vulnerability to rot, mold and bugs. The Urban Studio used Trex boards, a composite of reclaimed wood and plastic, to make the eaves more water resistant.
The list of innovative and eco-friendly features continues:
• The house has floors reclaimed from a Jim Beam distillery.
• Southern pine baseboards were milled from the boards used as forms for the house’s concrete footings. They were milled in the wood shop of the Gatewood Building, the home of the Department of Interior Architecture.
• The raised-seam metal roof on the house resembles the one on the Gatewood Building. Like concrete walls, metal roofs are expensive initially, but make up for their cost through greater durability and longevity, Charest said.
• The house is handicapped accessible throughout with 36-inch doorways and a kitchen island that can be used as a table by wheelchair users.
The experience of the first Urban Studio provides a model for other builders of affordable housing, Charest said. It also provides a strong foundation for the next Urban Studio, planned for 2008.
“Now we’ve gotten our feet wet a bit, so we’re ready to move forward with any project that comes our way,” Charest said.
