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Site: Former Site of Northampton State Mental Hospital

 

Program: Proposal to replace plans for 69 conventional suburban style homes with 6 earth-sheltered ecological homes and a constructed wetland park..

 

Solution:

A community of 6 homes that balance energy flows between the earth and human inhabitants.

 

Community:

A public path winds through the development that allows the park/wetland to be enjoyed by persons who are not homeowners.

Water:

Instead of relying on utilities to bring in and remove all the energy needs, each home has its own water recycling tank that converts all waste water to gray water. A portion of this is contributed to the shared community wetland. Another portion continues into the home's individual water treatment system.

 

Heat:

Each home is earth sheltered on the north side and abundantly glazed on the south. In addition to this passive approach to heating each house has a solar collector that powers a geothermal heating and cooling system.