Architecture...

I first met architect Ellen Honigstock at Vox Pop Café in Brooklyn, New York. At that time, Honigstock was making appearances throughout the borough to advise both apartment and home owners on how best they could save on energy costs.

Since then, Honigstock was hired by two former Brooklynites to build their new home in Indianapolis from the ground-up as an environmentally sound structure. While taking a break
from this ambitious project, Honigstock filled me in on the experience
of going green.

Q: You have said you are only taking on new architectural projects with a "green" or sustainable approach. Are you afraid you might not be able to make a living that way? And why do you care so much about building green?

EH: Now that you ask, yes, I am very afraid I won’t be able to make a living this way – it’s almost like starting the business over and trying to find a new client base butin order to build sustainably, a commitment is required on the part of all parties involved in the project – you can’t just overlay sustainable practices over a traditional architecture firm.

I had been interested in environmental issues for a very long time but getting a handle on all thecomplex issues that make up a truly sustainable building seemed fairlyinsurmountable so as a first step, about 5 years ago, I enrolled in a full dayworkshop in Philadelphia given by the US Green Building Council and got my LEEDAP (the accreditation given to professionals who are proficient in greenbuilding by the USGBC) shortly thereafter. The building industry in theUS is a leading cause of environmental problems and I want to make sure we arepart of the solution, not part of the problem.

Q: : How did the idea for the house in Indianapolis emerge? Have you done any work on this scale in New York City?

EH: A friend of ours moved from Brooklyn to Indianapolis and wanted an artist's refuge on his property. We wanted to experiment with green practices that we don't often find in New York City so he gamely played along.

We decided to blog the experience because we wanted to highlight the various choices and optionsinherent in the design process. There's no "silver bullet" ingreen design – everything is a series of tradeoffs – and we find that very interesting. One of the things we love about the project is that it isn’t affected by the proximity of neighbors, co-op or condo rules and since wecan control the infrastructure, we can really try to make something work“off-the-grid”

Q: What hasbeen the most expensive aspect of the project?

EH: We're too early in the project to tell. However, the Owner has so far rejected theidea of modular housing because it was too expensive on a per/square foot basisso we are working on investigating other options. It's funny to methat the modular home pricing is competitive in New York City dollars but wayexpensive in Indianapolis dollars. You would expect that modular housingwould be designed to appeal to a larger swath of America.

Q: Are materials being purchased locally, and is thelocal community involved to a degree?

EH: Yes, as much as ispracticable. The Owner has made contacts with the local green communityand I'm looking forward to pursuing those connections.

Q: "Green" brings "expensive" tomind. Was this project any more expensive than a standard homeconstruction?

EH: I have heardof several studies that "green" design costs are at most 5% higherthan standard construction – but most of these studies come from the realm ofcommercial construction. I imagine it would be a lot more difficult toquantify the difference in the world of residential construction because thereare so many more choices which would affect pricing.

There are certainlyseveral aspects of green design that have higher up front costs such as solarpanels, water filtration systems, green roofs etc. But many of those items have payback periods of reduced utility costs.

Ellen Honigstock is RiverWired's blogger on Green Architecture. She s an architect in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn who
specializes in sustainable architecture and interior design. She is
also the LEED for Homes Advocate for the NYC chapter of the USGBC (US
Green Building Council)

The photo shows Ellen, 71/2 months pregnant now, and standing next to Brooklyn's first -- and only -- street recycling bin.

Photo credit: Susan Seliger