The balance of the forty homes would be market rate units, ranging in price from less than $200,000 to the largest house at $300,000-plus—moderate by Austin standards. Compact and thoughtful plans, with designs pegged between 1,000 and 1,800 sq. ft., would make the price points possible.


“There is a big need for energy-efficient houses that are also affordable and attractive,” says Krager. “It just makes sense economically. The average home buyer will increasingly appreciate the savings offered by a green-equipped house, and an architect-designed development makes this concept even more appealing. By aligning with a developer, the same way the New Urbanists partnered with developers to bring concepts such as Seaside to fruition, there’s an opportunity for architects to lead the way in creating affordable green developments.”


The SOL site, a parcel of nearly six acres in East Austin—just three miles from downtown, seemed to fit the parameters for the new project. Once Krager and Becker set their energy target at the apex of sustainability requirements—net-zero capability—solving the complex puzzle of placing forty such homes on the plot became the next challenge.


With local community members supporting the endeavor, Krager and Becker applied to rezone the property for a small-lot variance, enabling them to optimize the site plan. Instead of a crowded site with a cookie-cutter layout, the small home lots enabled the developers to include a park and many other green features and amenities (see sidebar, right).


“Using energy modeling, we had to do some careful tweaking to make sure that every home could make maximum use of its features,” notes Krager. “Before SOL, the largest developments I designed were eight units. Creating a workable, good looking plan for forty units took a great deal of time and effort.”


SOL —Spanish for sun, and a hat tip to the historically Latino neighborhood where it is located—alludes in part to the solar panels on each house, but the acronym actually stands for Solutions Oriented Living.


The list of green features includes not just solar panels, geothermal heating, and cooling, but also thoughtful engineering that works with the seasons to capture (or repel) sunlight, depending on the season. For example, carefully placed deep overhangs shield glazing from the Austin summer sun. All of the homes feature 2x6 stick framing with blown-in insulation or SIP construction. See the large illustration (previous page) for more details.


The Final Hurdle
Of course, even the longest list of features won’t guarantee a net-zero home without the willing participation of its occupants. In addition, they need a way to monitor energy use. The first SOL home design has both the right clients and the right system.


Pete Brubaker and his wife Erin Swaney moved to Austin from Pittsburgh a few years ago, intent on finding a more sustainable home.


“We looked at some projects with green features that seemed more like greenwashing,” Brubaker recalls. “But this development had what we were looking for.” The couple bought a single-level, three-bedroom, two-bath model with a 1,505-sq. ft. floor plan. From the start, they aimed for net-zero-energy consumption, using the conservation attributes built into their home, and built around the parameters of their 5.3-kW solar panel system and geothermal heating and cooling system.


 


PRIORITY: OPTIMIZING THE SITE
According the the Urban Land Institute, major forces now converging will influence urban growth over the next 40 years:


SOL Austin utilizes a site just over three miles from downtown, close to public transit and schools. Architect Chris Krager reduced the lot sizes to create a more balanced public/private space ratio, increasing the sense of community and promoting interaction. A park doubles as the surface of a biofiltration system designed to control runoff from impervious surfaces.


Other features to improve aesthetics and livability include a varied pattern of massing and setbacks of the homes. Joint access driveways reduce the amount of impervious cover, as well as screening the visibility of numerous parked vehicles from the public areas.


Originally a tree farm, live oaks of varying ages and sizes covered the site pre-construction. The developers preserved many mature specimens and reused 150 saplings throughout the site. The construction team also relocated an existing bungalow, making it part of a newly constructed SOL home.

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