As the homeowners prepare to move in, members of EEHR took one last visit to the GreenBuild Duplex to capture a few final photos. Be sure to check back as we continue to develop more research and visualizations of the home including images from the 360-degree camera!
Raingarden Planting
(Photos by the State College Community Land Trust)
Over the past weekend, the State College Community Land Trust, with Envinity Inc, and Clearwater Conservancy, planted the Raingardens at the GreenBuild Duplex. These raingardens will absorb rain falling on the GreenBuild homes. All but one of the roof planes divert water into gutters and down into a pair of rain barrels and eventually into the central raingarden. Here the water will have a chance to be absorbed back into the ground to replenish ground water sources rather than filling up the sewer infrastructure. If the central raingarden begins to fill up, it will overflow into a lower raingarden; any water that overflows from that will drain into the sewer system.
Pouring the Footers
Today, Envinity really began construction by pouring the footers of the GreenBuild homes! The footers are the first step of the foundation; as the footers cure and harden over the next week, the crew will pour the foundation walls and begin insulating the homes. Because of the design team’s careful consideration of the site’s natural slope, some of the footers have to be stepped, a little extra work by the construction crew but a great way to reduce materials and impact to the site.
Digging, Digging, Digging
Today, Envinity is excavating the site in preparation for the foundation of the homes. The design team wanted to reduce the impact to the site as much as possible, so the homes are stepped to respond to the natural slope.
The Driveway is Ready
Over the past week, Envinity has laid the stone for what will become the shared driveway for the GreenBuild duplex. The stones are set now so that the construction team is able to safely and easily get their machinery on and off the site without damaging the ground. Even though the stone is set now, the driveway will be one of the last things completed so that it is in near-new and functioning condition for when the new homeowners move in.