Build It Green! Home Tour 2011 features our SE Portland rental transformation
This Saturday’s Build It Green! Home Tour (September 24, 11am-5pm) will showcase three Hammer & Hand green building projects: our super-efficient ADU, the Booth House energy retrofit, and our Rental Transformation in inner SE Portland (the subject of this post).
Also known as the Woodhole Duplex, the project just garnered media coverage by Bridget Otto in last Saturday’s Oregonian as part of her article about the City of Portland’s tour. The duplex is a compelling example of the potential for upcycling … in this case the upcycling of an entire building, taking a dilapidated structure and transforming it into an asset for the neighborhood. (NOTE: the pictures used in the post are borrowed from our Case Study post about the project.)
Before the retrofit and rehab, the building was a neighborhood eyesore, with failing façade, cramped bedrooms, crumbling kitchens and bathrooms, and energy-wasting walls and heating system.
Hammer & Hand worked with Scott Edwards Architecture to re-envision the space: opening up previously-cramped areas; completely remodeling kitchens and baths; employing salvaged, eco-friendly, and durable building materials; using advanced framing and high-quality insulation throughout; installing an on-demand gas water heater to efficiently supply domestic hot water and heat to each unit; and building the lower unit to be ADA compliant and conducive to aging-in-place (complete with wheelchair ramp, barrier-free shower, extra wide doors, and roll-under sinks and appliances).
A natively-planted landscape and bio swale, designed by Shapiro Didway Landscape Architecture, captures and manages stormwater on site.
The result? Two gracious, eminently livable rental units, with very-low home energy consumption (less than $100/mo.). Good for the planet and good for the landlord, thanks to fiercely loyal tenants that love their homes.
Come see this and our other projects this Saturday on the Build It Green! Home Tour 2011. It looks to be a beautiful day to tour the City’s best green homes and remodels!
– Zack
Back to Field Notes