A BrightBuilt Barn, is an eco-friendly project that is directed towards creating a more sustainable building. It was first established in Rockport, Maine by Kaplan Thompson Architects and company, when a rich entrepreneur contacted them by the name of Keith Collin. The BrightBuilt Barn is the creator's sample of what a more sustainable building can look like, for people to possibly live in. The idealist Keith Collin and company wanted a sustainable, low cost, and environmentally friendly home. At least that was the Collin's plan,since 2006. So far there are only prototype BrightBuilt houses produced. Collin wants the beginning design to be a pathway towards implying more technological applications into common day houses, to bring better result for the environment, or at least that is his vision. From its inception, the design was driven by five guiding principles: livability, sustainability, replicability, disentanglement, and education. In the eyes of the designers this barn project is a stepping stone toward the future improvements that can start right now, especially since the barns Net Zero design can benefit the environments situation. The benefit could mean more energy is conserved in the years to come, which can help other small towns like Collin's.
Contents
History
Keith Collin the project founder, and funds provider, started off with a thought about a project idea that would make homes more sustainable for the environment. Collin followed through with his plan by contacting Kaplan Thompson Architects. He asked of them to build a studio and workshop, for him and his wife. At first the project seemed like a simple project house, but Collin had a big project about to unroll. He did not want any simple workshop, but instead Collin wanted a type of home that could tackle the climate crisis looming around his town. Something big resulted from all this collaboration between Kaplan Thompson Architects, Bensonwood Woodworking Company, a Who’s-Who team of Maine’s green engineers, and a visionary client. A super green, offsite fabricated net-zero building that can be adapted and replicated over time. All the part-takers hoped the project would become a foundation for future Eco-friendly buildings that would possibly follow their footsteps, or they hoped so. Their goal can be seen a little bit too unreachable, but they all made a great effort to open up more people’s eyes toward innovation. Thus Collin and company pushed forward an effort of sustainability by starting in their small town, and hoping it would spread more throughout the world.
Waste Improvements
The barn is 25 percent sustainable, and recyclable. Plus the framing and wood materials that went into the manufacturing came within 250 miles from the site. These features make the Eco-home more ideal in avoiding the use of excess waste materials. Material that could be possibly waste in making typical homes. Collin felt that in this time of day any effort for less waste would be for a better good. The workers who actually put the home together developed a plan of how exactly it was all going to come together before even going to the working place, and they did this to avoid any waste material due to errors.
Infrastructure
The plumbing fixtures inside this Eco-house are specifically set up to use less water than normal fixtures, plus they are separated from the homes structure to make them more accessible for repairs. Even the landscape of these homes have been set up in a more sustainable manner as they have been set up with native drought tolerant plants, instead of water thirsty grass, which helps the maintenance be even that much less.
Energy Efficiency
Each component of the building envelope (walls, floor, ceiling/roof) achieves R-40 insulation, which, in combination with high efficiency windows, creates a building tight enough to require NO FURNACE. Having the Eco-home be built to these standards demonstrates the planning that went into the BrighBuilt Barn being as helpful to the plant as possible. These Eco-homes is made more environmentally friendly through their use of R-40 insulation, which just means it has a better than normal thermal resistance, than typical homes. The building is even set up to help calculate the homes performance in two distinct ways. The first way to measure performance is through LED lights around the bottom part of the home that are indicates of the moment to moment energy being used by the home. The second way is three meters set up at the far end of the house to indicates the certain levels of materials being used at the home. Each feature being the designer's effort to keep track of the BrighBuilts homes plan of helping the planet.
The BrightBuilt Barn's LED lightskirt located on the outside bottom edge of the house informs the people inside on how efficiently are they using the energy in the building.
Net Zero
The BrightBuilt home has to reach a lot of standards to get to be defined as Net Zero. First and foremost though it must not use any fossil fuels at all. Furthermost, the home can not use more energy that it actually produces itself. What helps the building the most in reaching Net Zero standards are the R-40 insulated walls, and R-60 insulated roof. The insulation helps with climate changes, as it helps during cold conditions. It's not going to take a lot to keep this place warm.
Low Budget and Attractive
These BrightBuilt homes can now be replicated in other conditions, and it would be estimated at less than 200,000. This low price comes along with a very nice design, as Collin would say. It doesn't look like a science project. It is extremely attractive, and at the same time it is highly energy-efficient. Not to forget the movable walls, so the inhabitants can remodel it to their preferred design.
Solar Power
Utility Credit
Since the BrightBuilt barn has such tight insulation, the heat produced by appliances plus the inhabitants can keep it comfortable temperature for the people living there, all year long. Also the solar water heater and connected heat pump work as further heating to the house, helping to make the house produce more than it consumes. This extra energy from Collin's barn, is piped back to the energy company to give him utility credit.
ArchiCAD
The BrightBuilt barn designers used ArchiCAD to produce a three-dimensional model of the home, and how it would come together perfectly in the virtual world, before they actually went to work on it. This virtual design cut formatted a model to precise detail, plus they even calculated how to get the most sun to hit their solar panels. Every little aspect of the home was determined before hand, the designers were not considering errors as a choice. Even three-dimensional communication was continuously occurring between Brensonwood and designers through the use of ArchiCAD, as they virtually talked from a distant building to the working site.