CREATIVE CONCRETE: 2007 is the fourth consecutive year that The New American Home features a structural concrete wall system. Built by custom homebuilder Carmen Dominguez, the 8,585 square foot 2007 home can withstand 180-mile per hour winds and boasts a three- to four-hour fire rating. The home, a three story urban loft with roof plaza, features 4,707 square feet of conditioned living area, plus a 576 square foot suite above a detached garage.
The New American Home Goes Green
Is concrete becoming the norm for this industry icon?
By Carli Warr
The whispers about the 2007 New American Home being made of concrete seemed like standard hyperbole at first, but as the world turned its eyes to wind-driven disasters, it soon became obvious that concrete is the material of choice for the home building industry’s annual shrine to the newest and most innovative building materials.
“Some people have safe rooms—we’re building safe houses,” explains Tucker Bernard, senior director National Council of the Housing Industry (NCHI), the National Association of Home Builder’s (NAHB) organization of building-material manufacturers and suppliers who sponsors the annual event.
In reality, 2007 marks the fourth consecutive year that this iconic home features a structural concrete wall system. The big news this year is that it is precast’s turn in the spotlight. Precast sandwich panels form exterior walls while precast hollow-core planks create floors and roof. Additional concrete products include a poured concrete foundation, stucco with photovoltaic and pollution-fighting fiber-cement siding, concrete pavers in the courtyard and pool area, and concrete masonry retaining walls.
Built by custom homebuilder Carmen Dominguez, the 8,585 square foot 2007 home can withstand 180-mile per hour winds and boasts a three- to four-hour fire rating. The home, a three story urban loft with roof plaza, features 4,707 square feet of conditioned living area, plus a 576 square foot suite above a detached garage. The home is constructed on an urban in-fill site overlooking Lake Eola in downtown Orlando. Next door is NCHI and NAHB’s The Renewed American Home 2007, which the group is remodeling. Built in 1909, the 2,462-square-foot home is being completely renovated and expanded. Truly urban, the area was developed between 1905 and 1925 and contains a blend of Craftsman, Mediterranean Revival, Colonial Revival and frame vernacular housing styles.
The reason for building here, says Bernard, is to take advantage of the national trend by homeowners who are forsaking the suburbs to live downtown within walking distance of restaurants, parks and entertainment venues. The home’s architectural design challenge was to create an urban international style home with a chic feel that stands out, yet fits in with the surrounding historic homes.
“The contemporary and urban design has a thread of history that is complementary with the architecture of Orlando’s Lake Eola historic district,” explains Rick Piacente, project manager, Bloodgood Sharp Buster Architects & Planners, Inc.
The home’s first floor has a poured-in-place basement, which includes a home office, a media room with a small kitchen, a mudroom, and two bedrooms connected by a bathroom. The second floor contains the master suite, consisting of a lounge, morning kitchen, bathroom, outdoor shower and grass-covered deck. The third floor has an open plan with a family room, kitchen and bathroom. Each floor has its own laundry room. The entire house is handicapped accessible, serviced by an elevator.
The backyard is surrounded by concrete masonry retaining walls. The landscaped garden includes concrete pavers around the small pool and waterfall. An apartment above the garage boasts a private deck with views of the lake.
But there’s more here than just design. With its international publicity and diverse sponsorship, the 2007 home proffers a great opportunity for collaboration between organizations as well as showing off concrete’s capabilities, says Jim Niehoff, residential promotion manager, Portland Cement Association (PCA). The project is heavily publicized by NAHB and will be visited by thousands of builders during the Show and seen by thousands of consumers in the weeks immediately following. It also gets excellent coverage from editors at the show, from trade magazines and television. “We really feel that we get a lot of value out of this project,” says Niehoff.
Much value also seeps through to the builder and his market. Before building the 2004 New American Home in Las Vegas, builder Merlin Contracting and Developing had never built homes with concrete. Now the company distributes insulating concrete forms and builds almost exclusively with concrete.
“We’re showing the world that things are changing when IBS official showcase home is built out of concrete,” insists Michael Weber, director of residential programs, PCA. Apparently, he’s on target. Consider that market share of concrete homes has grown from 3% in 1993 to nearly 18% in 2005, according to a recent market research by PCA.
Other factors are also in play. The 2007 home is universal design compliant and Energy Star certified. It has an extensive integration of various low-voltage systems, from home-run structured wiring to whole-house lighting control, entertainment and security. It is also certified as a green or environmentally friendly home under standards set forth by the Florida Green Building Coalition. Among the home’s green features are a photovoltaic system, impact-resistant windows, a generator and a cistern that will collect rainwater for irrigation.
What’s on tap for 2008? A home built with autoclaved aerated concrete, says Bernard. The Sater Group has already designed the 5,803 square foot home, to be built by Robertson Homes in Orlando, at a selling price of $1.9 million.
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