The Green House: What Makes the Glidehouse Green
The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture and Design
May 20, 2006 – June 24, 2007 / National Building Museum
What Makes the Glidehouse™ Green
- The prefabricated nature of the house results in comparatively little construction waste, particularly on the building site.
- The house can be positioned on its site to minimize solar loss in the winter and solar gain in the summer.
- The house’s design layout has a narrow footprint, facilitating cross ventilation in all rooms.
- The roof is sloped to receive solar panels and create a clerestory window that brings in natural light and minimizes the need for artificial lighting.
- Windows are placed to maximize solar benefits and natural ventilation.
- Sliding panels of wood louvers cover the long glass façade and can be adjusted to control the level of sunlight entering the house while maintaining air flow.
- The walls and roof are made of structurally insulated panels, or SIPS, a system that is well-regarded for its resistance to mold and soft foam insulation, which fully fills each panel.
- Wood-to-wood wall joints are precisely caulked to make the house airtight, minimizing the vulnerability to mold and lowering heating and cooling loads.
- Floors are bamboo, a fast-growing, easily renewable material.
- Lightweight concrete countertops are made of recycled newspaper and fly ash.
- Kitchen cabinets are free of toxic formaldehyde.
- Kitchen appliances are energy-smart.
- Bathroom fixtures, such as the toilet and Tankless water heater, save water and are energy efficient.
- Walls are finished in non-toxic paints.
- Energy-efficient fluorescent lighting is used throughout the house.
