Entry number: UB07073
Project Name: casa a gogo
Location: Las Vegas
Building Type: Residential
Completion Date: April,  2009
Architect:  assemblageSTUDIO

Sustainability Description

Narrative/Project Description:
The owners desired a home that reflected the classic modern era, recalling a period when their families first came to Vegas.

The project started with a review of the case study program with an emphasis on CSH# 25, Frank House, by Killingsworth, Brady, smith and associates. The project presented a solid face to the street but opening the over scaled entry doors revealed a double height structure open to the central courtyard.

Lines of sight through the home play on the openness, from the entry through to the pool with projected imagery, down the hall from the living room to the spa and as one moves down the stairs form the bedrooms or roof deck. One is constantly reminded of the indoor outdoor qualities of the home.

Landscaping is kept ornamental, a graphic representation of the design is blended behind the pool into the native vegetation of the golf course.

Materials are simple; insulated CMU, plaster, low e glazing and the mesh canopy.

Sustainability Description:
Is LEED the latest fad as Dwell editor Sam Grawe stated in his "Sustainability 24/7?" Or is it a point system for architects to be doing what we learned long ago.

Within this specific environment sustainability is about harnessing the sun's positive attributes while shielding the space form the harsh realities of this place.

In this design, sustainability is fully integrated into the actual home. It is the central figure in creating an indoor/outdoor blurring of lines to enable the owner's to fully live their home. Combining "Big Ass Fans" in the courtyard drops the ambient temperature 15-20 degree, precooling the air prior to taking into the home, resulting in less cooling demand on the AC system. Indirect day lighting fills each space throughout the year. With the potential of rolling back the mesh canopy, even on cool days, the central courtyard is an integral component of the design.

Landscape and water within the central courtyard will also assist in lowering the perceptive temperature. The canopy assists in development of an efficient building envelope.

Harnessing the sun will come through solar panels on the roof that will provide heating for the pool, domestic water and radiant floor heating.

Drought tolerant landscape is used throughout the complex. Subterranean irrigation is used to supply water to grass and major trees.

While LEED might still be in its infancy, long proven methods enable architects to design sustainable dwellings fit for the harsh desert.