Client
Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corp.
Year
2014
Program
Multifamily residential
Status
Unbuilt
Location
Dorchester, MA
Maximizing green space in a LEED Platinum Passive House development
This unbuilt project proposed placing 24 units of affordable housing along the new MBTA Indigo Line, in Dorchester, MA for the Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation. Developed in collaboration with Placetailor, the proposal maximized green space by clever orientation of the units, provided a covered, street level entry for each unit, provided off-street parking in unobtrusive locations, and provided space for community supported urban agriculture. The units themselves were designed to Passive House standards, and included a variety of unit types and sizes to reflect the diversity of needs in the neighborhood. Taking cues from the surrounding fabric of rowhouses and triple deckers, the units each have dedicated outdoor space, bike parking, and in-unit washer/dryer.
This project projected achieving LEED Platinum at no or minimal additional cost, through Runcible’s and Placetailor’s philosophy of sustainability: “too frequently sustainability is seen as the “icing on the cake,” something added after the cake is already done being baked. It might look good, it might even taste good, but it is always applied afterward, it isn’t integrated or integral. Sustainability is at the core of every single project our team has ever done and will ever do. Sustainability is one of the main ingredients to all of our designs; in other words “we bake it in.”
Collaboration with Placetailor