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Local Realtor earns accolades for green home design
Endsley-House
Endsley Prototype Homes, like the one pictured above, received a Merit Award from the American Institute of Architects for their energy efficient designs. - photo by Photo Contributed
The Endsley Prototype Homes, an unbuilt pair of sustainable infill homes planned for Turlock, were honored with a Merit Award in a highly competitive American Institute of Architects design award program.
The award was one of just 11 bestowed by the East Bay Chapter of the American Institute of Architects as part of the Above and Beyond — 2009 Unbuilt Design Awards.
“They were so happy that somebody over here was trying to set an example,” said Bob Endsley of Turlock’s Coldwell Banker Endsley and Associates, who commissioned the design of the sustainable, energy-efficient homes.
The Endsley Prototype Homes make use of passive cooling strategies to combat hot summer days — including deep overhangs and opportunities for cross ventilation — in conjunction with active strategies such as a high performance exterior envelope and high-performance heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems. The efforts are bolstered by onsite solar cells and solar water heating, intended to create a zero-energy home.
While drawings show lawns, Endlsey says the built homes would feature xeriscaped, naturally planted yards that require little or no irrigation.
According to Endsley, the homes’ design came in response to what he sees as the “ridiculously large” homes that have sprung up around Turlock, which badly use scarce resources.
“Most of them had to have an air conditioner upstairs, and an air conditioner downstairs, and two or three water heaters, and lots of ground,” Endsley said.
The infill Endsley Prototype Homes would use less ground, and be more efficient than the homes they replace. The two homes would be smaller — 2,100 to 2,300 square-foot, three-bedroom homes — that would cost between $325,000 to $350,000 to build, each.
Architect David Burton of Berkeley-based Burton Architecture was brought onboard to draft the environmentally-responsible homes after wowing Endsley with a tour of green buildings in Berkeley. The Endsley Prototype Homes built on Burton’s past green design work, as well as the aesthetic design philosophy of architect Joseph Eichler’s courtyard homes.
While Endsley wasn’t intending to make a profit with the Endsley Prototype Homes, his intention to build the homes as an alternate vision to what can — and should — be done with local real estate was stymied by the down economy. Endsley had hoped to construct the homes, then leave them unoccupied to conduct tours for a while, but the real estate market has made even construction an untenable option at this time.
Endsley still hopes to build the Prototype Homes, however, just as soon as the market recovers.
To contact Alex Cantatore, e-mail acantatore@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2005.