Posts Tagged ‘castaway house’

October 11, 2011

Castaway House Begins Construction

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet I am happy to announce that the Castaway House, a project that I’m working on with The Ranch Mine, Jeremy Stapleton and RC Green Builders, began construction last week! I am also proud to say that it is the very first project to get permitted through the Phoenix Green Construction Code which is a voluntary program recently adopted by the City of Phoenix that aims to take a holistic approach to rating sustainable projects. I’ll be posting updates on the construction to keep you posted on the progress. Here’s what’s happening on site right now: Demo: All the existing…

July 26, 2011

What’s Happening at Planning and Development at the City of Phoenix?

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of sitting down with the Director to Planning and Development at the City of Phoenix, Debra Stark. We talked about all the different things the department is doing to encourage reuse of existing buildings, promote energy efficiency and take away barriers of building for small businesses. Merger of Planning and Historic Preservation with Development Services: The merger of three different but related departments initially occurred because of City budget cuts but according to Debra, it’s proven to be great for collaboration and the streamlining of services. About a year and a…

June 01, 2011

5 Awesome Things about the Castaway House Kick-Off

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet A rendering of the courtyard at Castaway House by Cavin Costello I read this earlier today: The word “integrity” shares its root with the word “integer,” which means one indivisible thing. – Martha Beck This idea of ‘one indivisible thing’ ties in very nicely with what I wanted to write about today which is the integrated design kick-off meeting we had last week for the Castaway House. I know it’s been a while since I’ve written about the Castaway House, but that’s because we were in the middle of selecting a contractor to work with and also trying to…

April 06, 2011

The New Phoenix Green Construction Code Should Take Location More Seriously

by: Cavin Costello

Tweet We are planning on using the brand new Phoenix Green Construction Code on the Castaway House. Today’s post is by Cavin Costello, the designer on Castaway House. He tells us about an important missing factor in this new code: Starting in July, the City of Phoenix will be implementing the new Phoenix Green Construction Code. This code will be voluntary and was created with the following intent: The purpose of this code is to safeguard the environment, public health, safety and general welfare through the establishment of requirements to reduce the negative potential impacts and increase the positive potential…

March 23, 2011

Two Renderings of the Castaway House

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet Castaway House Update: The front, rendering by Cavin Costello The courtyard/garden, rendering by Cavin Costello

March 16, 2011

Integrating a Contractor Early at the Castaway House

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet A lot of times designers and architects tend to dream big and forget about the budget. And important part of making realistic plans is to put numbers to the design as early in the game as possible, so you know you’re not way off track. So at Castaway House, now that we have solidified a schematic design for the house, both interior, exterior and landscape, we are getting bids from contractors. There are two reasons to do this early in the game rather then when the drawings are complete and into the city for permit review, which is the…

February 16, 2011

On Site at the Castaway House and Why Flexibility is Key

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet On Site with Claire: Flexibility is a key component to our concept: Flexibility is a little-known, but key aspect of sustainability. When flexibility is designed into a house, it makes it easier for it to “flex” as the owner’s needs change or as owners change. Designed flexibility reduces waste and energy when it comes to implementing the inevitable changes that happen in life. A common scenario where flexibility comes to play is when a couple has a child. Is their home flexible enough to effectively house the child, not only in her infancy but as she grows up? What…