Oct 29 2007
On October 24, the PATH Concept Home team brought together housing innovators of all types to lay the groundwork for Concept Home Charleston. Designers, builders, technology experts, realty professionals, landscape architects and others all collaborated in the day-long charrette to create the initial design concepts and sustainability goals for the nation's second Concept Home. The event was attended by the Mayor of Hollywood, South Carolina, the Charleston-area locality where the home will be built.
The major accomplishment for the day was to create several design options for the Concept Home, which will be refined and polished over the next few months to arrive at the final plan. The Concept Home Charleston design plans will be released at the 2008 International Builders' Show in Orlando.
Hollywood Mayor Jacquelyn Heyward observed the charrette process, joined here by Mike Blanford of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Hank Hofford of Bennett Hofford, the builder for Concept Home Charleston.Charrette members also established an initial target for the home's sustainability. Based upon a working session with technology and energy experts, the team expects that Concept Home Charleston will achieve at least a Silver rating in the LEED for Homes green building program. The house will also be certified under the soon-to-be-released National Green Building Standard.
Next steps for Concept Home Charleston are finalizing the design plans, selecting and specifying a range of innovative and sustainable technologies, and beginning energy modeling analysis on the home. Construction of the house will begin in March 2008, with educational and outreach events throughout the construction process. Concept Home Charleston will be completed in fall 2008.