Watershed Architects is the recipient of a JRGBC Green Building Leadership Award for the residential project “The Phoenix.”  Awards were announced yesterday at the 7th Annual JRGBC Green Building Leadership Awards ceremony held at the Glen Allen Cultural Arts Center.

The Phoenix project, located at 1417 Grove Avenue in Richmond’s Fan district, earned a LEED Gold rating and boasts a wealth of sustainable design features.

From the outset, “The Phoenix” was a fitting moniker for the 1417 Grove rehab, as it was a project born of commitment to breathing new life and vitality into the burned-out shell of 1920′s row house: rising from the ashes of a devastating fire, the property was transformed into a modern home that exemplifies healthy design, both on a personal and planetary level.

An overarching goal of the project was to take the energy profile of this 100+ year old building to the highest level possible. The building’s environmental integrity is manifested in storm water management through a living roof, rainwater harvest, rain garden and pervious paving; reclaimed flooring, regionally harvested cladding & decking, non-Portland cement plaster, non-toxic paints, an interior living wall. Also, extensive envelope improvements (low energy fixtures, closed cell foam insulation, high performing windows, etc.) are complimented by a PV array that occupies the original low-slope main roof, as well as a solar thermal system that supports primary hot water needs.

More information and images can be found on the Watershed website  Grove Avenue Project Page, the Grove Avenue Green House Project Blog, and in our Facebook and Flickr photo albums listed below.

Grove Avenue Facebook Images by Jeff Saxman
Grove Avenue Green Roof & Living Wall Images
Grove Avenue Flickr Set
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Watershed is pleased to announce that 1417 Grove Avenue aka “The Phoenix” has been certified at the LEED Gold level. As the designers of the project, we are proud to have been a part of the team and congratulate all who contributed, with particular gratitude to the clients, Dr. Kenneth Kendler and Dr. Susan Miller, for their commitment to achieving the project goals.

Additional project photos and details are on this Grove Avenue Project Blog, the Watershed Portfolio page, and in our Facebook photo albums and Flickr photo sets.

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The Richmond architecture community has a new category of “green” to be proud of today.

Last night, Richmond’s own A.C.O.R.N. (Alliance to Conserve Old Richmond Neighborhoods) hosted its 11th annual Golden Hammer Awards event at the Virginia War Memorial and Watershed Architects is very pleased to announce that one of our projects received an award, but not the one you (or we) ever could have expected.

There were 27 nominees and, while our work made it into the top 4 finalists for the Golden Hammer Award itself, the project actually won the first ever Green Hammer Award, representing a new category created specifically for recognition of exemplary sustainable building work that aligns with ACORN’s mission.

1417 Grove Avenue, aka “The Phoenix” due to its post-fire rise back into being, is the newly renovated home of Dr. Susan Miller and Dr. Ken Kendler in The Fan. A great deal of heartfelt effort went into the design, implementation, and oversight of this project, and Watershed could not be happier for both Dr. Miller and Dr. Kendler who will proudly display the “Green Hammer” award in their new home.

Dr. Miller also had a few words of her own to say on the project “As you know, this is the centennial of the house that was built in 1910, and I think a fitting way to start the next 100 years. Thanks to all of you who have gone through the trials and tribulations of taking a burned out shell into the 21st century. I am very proud to have been associated with each of you during this project.”

Watershed sincerely wants to thank not only the clients who made this project possible, but also the many individuals and contractors who worked so hard to return this once-devastated building to serving as an extraordinary home for the Kendler-Miller family.

Be sure to check out the project links online:
Grove Avenue Green Home Project Blog
Grove Avenue Green Home Photos on Flickr
Grove Avenue Green Home Photos on Facebook
as well as some additional photos on Facebook, by Richmond photographer Jeff Saxman

You can also read more about the 2010 Golden Hammer Awards event and A.C.O.R.N., the Alliance to Conserve Old Richmond Neighborhoods.

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Photos courtesy Jeff Saxman, Saxman Photography

Many, many more are in an album on the Watershed Facebook Page.

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After the Grove Avenue Green Home Tour in June, many people wanted to know more about the wide variety of green features touched on during the one-hour walk-through. During that hour, Watershed staff were only able to scratch the surface of the sustainable technologies and products on display. So below is a full list of features in the home and the collaborators, installers & suppliers with whom we worked.

This is slated to be the first LEED-certified residence in the City of Richmond. The owners have already moved in, and are watching as the final touches are put in place around them, as a Watershed project becomes a finished house, and then finally, a home.

Their home includes the following:

* Living Wall (SG Designs)
* Rain HOGs (HOG Works, Australia)
* Rain garden planter (SG Designs)
* Frontscape planter with native plants (SG Designs)
* Green roof with native plants (SG Designs)
* Solar tube
* Virginia Limeworks plaster
* Several domestic tile sources (sourced within a 500-mile radius)(Steve Herndon)
* Rescued/Up-cycled oak flooring (recovered from pallets headed to a landfill)
* Black locust siding (from Nelson County)
* Biosheild Oil wood floor finish (non-toxic) (EcoLogic)
* Mythic Paint (EcoLogic)
* Marmoleum flooring in the baths (EcoLogic)
* PaperStone laundry room countertop
* Eco Smart XL Burner
* Locally made concrete countertops with recycled glass
* Locally fabricated cabinets
* All CFL, low voltage, or LED light fixtures
* Solar PV panels
* Solar Thermal panels (These panels also act as a sun canopy for the windows of a second-floor study.)
* Energy Star appliances, maximum efficiency

* You can click on the names of the features above to view photos examples of the work or product. If you’d like to include any of these in your own new or existing home, contact us at Watershed Architects for quotes, sustainable building ideas and more information about our environmentally-friendly product partners.

Website: http://watershedarch.net/portfolio/current
Email: patrick@watershedarch.net
Phone: (804) 254-8001  /  Fax: (804) 254-8003
Address & Map: 1521 West Main Street, Richmond, VA 23220

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