KTGY-Designed Home Demonstrates Innovation in Leading-edge Affordable, Buildable & Certifiable Residential Construction
IRVINE, CA – June 24, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — Award-winning national firm KTGY Group, Inc., Architecture + Planning, is pleased to announce that its innovative ABC Green Home has won the prestigious 2013 PCBC Gold Nugget Grand Award for the “Best Zero Net Energy Home Design.” Designed as an Affordable, Buildable and Certifiable (ABC) Green Home, this very appealing Craftsman-style, 1,695-square-foot, 3-bedroom, 3-bath home is a net zero energy-consumption model home, which provides a blueprint for builders on how to mass produce environmentally-friendly houses that generate as much energy as they consume.
Built by Southern California Edison (SCE), BCA Development & North Orange County ROP-BITA Program, and Peninsula Publishing, and designed by KTGY, the ABC Green Home represents an industry-wide collaboration of approximately 70 companies that contributed labor and materials to design, build and accessorize the home with available materials, technology and appliances at a cost, which is competitive with conventional housing. Students from seven Orange County high schools assisted with construction of the ABC Green Home as part of special educational efforts aimed at students interested in construction trades.
The high-tech, high-performance home is equipped with the latest energy and water efficiencies and onsite/offsite monitoring systems and includes solar panels, a cool roof, and a system that recycles the water supply within the house. It was built with less wood and more insulation to allow it to regulate and maintain a comfortable ambient temperature. It was also designed using Universal Design principles including lower counter tops and wider doors and hallways for wheel chair access and user-friendly features for all life-stages.
“The affordable design and the incorporation of universal design details literally puts this net zero energy home within reach of anyone,” said KTGY’s Manny Gonzalez, AIA, LEED AP and principal, and the project’s lead designer. “There are very few affordable, entry-level, certified green homes being built by production homebuilders for sale today in America so the home serves as a template for future housing.”
The ABC Green Home serves to educate and train builders, students, industry groups and thousands of visitors about sustainable living and is currently on display at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, Calif., for the remainder of the year. The ABC Green Home will also be on display as part of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2013, which will take place October 3-13, 2013, at the Great Park. This will be the first time this world famous competition will be held outside of Washington D.C. Eventually, the home will be donated to Habitat for Humanity and given to a combat-wounded service person.
“There’s a misconception in the housing business that green homebuilding is daunting,” said Peninsula Publishing’s Nick Slevin, publisher of Green Home Builder magazine and a project organizer. “We built this home out of materials you can get anywhere. It is designed to be easily built by a homebuilder on a lot anywhere in the country, using modern sustainable products and practices. In fact, students from seven local high schools helped with construction.”
“Southern California Edison is proud to be a partner in the ABC Green Home. It’s our hope that this visionary project inspires homeowners, builders and renters to think about all the possibilities that are open to them. Every energy-efficient feature, no matter how small, makes a positive impact on their own electric bills and the environment that we all share,” said Gene Rodrigues, SCE’s director of Customer Energy Efficiency and Solar.
“ABC Green Home showcases cutting-edge technology and universal design principles that have been combined into one-efficient design; and demonstrates that it’s possible to meet California’s goal of making all new homes net zero energy by 2020, today,” added Gonzalez.
The organizers are currently in the process of securing certifications and ratings from U.S. Green Building Council for LEED, Build It Green, EnergyStar, CalGreen and California Advanced Homes Program.
Working with Peninsula Publishing again, Manny Gonzalez has designed the next generation, high-performance, net zero home, the ABC Green Home 2.0. The new home, which is a 2,200-square-foot, multi-generational, two-story floor plan, will also be a demonstration home. With more eco-friendly elements and the latest integrated technologies, the ABC Green Home 2.0 will prove to be a success, like the original. “The ABC Green Home 2.0 is designed to fit on the next generation of lot size that is shallower and wider than traditional lots but still offers the lifestyle and streetscape of a much larger home site,” Gonzalez said.
About Southern California Edison
An Edison International (NYSE:EIX) company, Southern California Edison is one of the nation’s largest electric utilities, serving a population of nearly 14 million via 4.9 million customer accounts in a 50,000-square-mile service area within Central, Coastal and Southern California. See www.sce.com
About Green Home Builder magazine
Since 2006, Green Home Builder has published quarterly magazines in print and online by Newport Beach, Calif.-based Peninsula Publishing Inc., publishers of business management magazines for homebuilding professionals since 1990. For more information, visit www.greenhomebuildermag.com
About KTGY Group
Celebrating 21 years, KTGY Group, Inc., Architecture and Planning, is a national award-winning firm providing comprehensive planning and award-winning architectural design services for residential communities, retail, hospitality, mixed-use and related specialty developments. KTGY delivers innovative solutions that reflect clear understanding of development, market trends and financial performance. Serving clients worldwide, KTGY maintains offices in Irvine, Oakland and Santa Monica, Calif., Denver, Colo., and Tysons, Va. See www.KTGY.com
