Green Home Design Team

The Green Home Design Team was started in Winter 2007. Since then we have been working on various projects but with an overall emphasis on Green Building

CURRENT PROJECTS:
Winter 08
This quarter we were given several projects to take on. We individually chose the project of interest, and formed sub-teams from there. In the end we came up with three teams, which were the Value Engineering Team, Site Management Team, and ICF (Insulating Concrete Form) Team.

Value Engineering
Researched Value Engineering techniques and applied it onto a designed floor plan. Calculated loads acting on studs and adjusted spacing of studs from the design. Performed a structural analysis on the new design, and created a new floor plan. Compiled a manual of the research done on Value Engineering to be added into the Green Book.

ICF
Created four separate floor plans of a three and four bedroom house on a raised or slab on grade foundation. Researched insulating concrete form, slab on grade foundation, and raised platforms. Calculated wind and seismic loads on the design.

Libby Lake Village Site Management
We organized construction schedules for Libby Lake Village Construction. One schedule was on the whole project from grading to putting on windows in buildings. Anther schedule is the Blitz. During the Blitz schedule, Habitat for Humanity San Diego will build four houses in one week. Besides the schedule, we did researches on different recyclable construction waste such as drywall, wood tablet, masonry, and metal scraps. Many recycle centers were found to buy back the construction material waste near the construction site in order to reduce transportation hassle. We also designed a recycle center onsite using fences, and left over wood beams.

PAST PROJECTS:
Fall 07
Green Building Project (cont.)
This was a continuation of the LEED project with a new focus on overall green building as opposed to just LEED certification. This team researched various green building topics and created a green building guide booklet geared towards the needs of Habitat for Humanity.

Two Story Analysis Project
Designed shear walls a set of two-story homes to be built on the Libby Lake development project in Oceanside.

Summer 07
Internship
Expanded research on LEED Certification and Green Building topics.

Spring 07
LEED Project
Researched LEED certification and provided cost effective green solutions for Habitat for Humanity. The overall goal was to eventually design a home that was both LEED certified yet still "simple and decent" to where Habitat for Humanity San Diego could implement it in a future development project.

Meeting Area Project (cont.)
Redesigned the community meeting space from the previous quarter with added critics from the landscape architect. Produced construction layouts with an analysis of the shade trellis.

Retaining Wall Team Project (cont.)
Performed an analysis to see what type of retaining wall was adequate for the East end of the Libby Lake development Project. It was concluded that a gravity type retaining would suffice.

Winter 07
Meeting Area Project
Designed and fabricated a model for a 20 by 25 feet community meeting space for the Libby Lake development project in Oceanside.

Retaining Wall Project
Designed a retaining wall for the west end of the Libby Lake development project.

FUTURE PROJECTS:
The future projects of this team will strive to effectively implement green design into homes and structures creating a positive impact for the environment, community, and our clients.

Looking ahead, some of the development projects San Diego Habitat for Humanity has planned include:

National City Condos (National City)
This development project will consist of two, eight-unit condominiums each with approximately 1250 sq ft of living space. Project is scheduled to begin late 2009

National City Single Family Homes (National City)
The project will consist of 2-3 single family homes to be constructed on a single lot. Construction is scheduled for summer 2008.

Jimmy Johnson Project (El Cajon)
The Jimmy Johnson Foundation is sponsoring the construction of a full sized home in El Cajon. Construction is expected to be towards summer 2008.