My curiosity brought me over to check the out the new home under construction at 306-B Grove Ave in Falls Church VA this past weekend. This home is significantly different from the many mammoth homes that surround it.
The ErdHaus - Earth House is truly a step in the direction of 'sustainable'. We often talk about green buildings and sustainability; however we as a community aren't really anywhere near sustainable.
Arlington County has been very forward thinking in the location of metro, transit oriented development, mixed use development, and general smart growth strategies for years. These conscious actions have made Arlingtona a leader in the nation, true. However, it still is not even close to sustainable.
So, what is sustainable?
This Falls Church project is a real step in the right direction. The home is a state of the art passive solar home, constructed from bricks using soil from excavation. During the excavation for the basement, the fill dirt was saved rather than trucking it elsewhere. This dirt is being made into earth bricks to make the walls of the structure.
These earth bricks, south facing solar orientation and many other features make this one of the most sustainable homes in the region. It won't need (or have) an AC unit and the heating will mostly be done through passive solar.
Don't take my word; check out the ErdHaus Blog and the photos below:
http://fallschurcherdhaus.blogspot.com/
http://picasaweb.google.com/asegelmoss/EarthBrickHouseFallsChurch?authkey=Gv1sRgCIb-mtn2h9O8uAE#
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