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Atlanta, GA | Posted: November 7, 2006
Assistant Professor Michael Gamble's (Architecture) firm, G+G Architects, recently received an award from the Atlanta Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, taking first prize in the Kendeda Home Competition sponsored by Chairs Community Housing, Southface Energy Institute, and the Atlanta AIA.
The competition called for a sustainable home that would be built in Atlanta with a budget of $125,000. "This is a big step in the right direction for Atlanta - environmentally sensitive, affordable, work force housing," said Gamble. "We liked the competition brief the first time we read it - really challenging. The discussions around the subject of health and the environment continue to influence all of our projects."
G+G's winning entry is a house, to be constructed in the Grant Park neighborhood in Atlanta, that was designed to create a variety of indoor and outdoor public, social, and private spaces. "The living room is the nexus of all activities in the house," said Gamble. "It interacts with every space on the site from the most public to the most private."
G+G designed moveable wall panels throughout the house to create a variety of family sizes and social arrangements. The house was also designed to accommodate anyone. Ramps instead of stairs take up the grade from the house to the garden and the grove. Another compelling feature of the house is its environmentally sensitive components. The roof, made of recycled metal, directs the flow of rainwater to on-site storage tanks. G+G also suggests that the landscape be Xeriscaped.
"The private backyard is enclosed on three sides by the house and is configured in such a way at to preserve the existing grove of trees," said Gamble. "The grove functions as the coolest outdoor area of the site and one of the most private. And roof water is stored in a simple cistern. Rainwater, stored in the cisterns, distributes water to the vegetable garden via drip lines in-between rain showers."
To view more images of the winning design visit www.gg-architects.com/63Gam.htm.
