Carswell Residence: Part III of The Tucson Innovative Home Tour

Traveling forward from the Mercado District of Menlo Park, my Cat Scan tour group ventured to a private residence nestled in the palm of Tucson and surrounded by mountains.
As an award winning designer and builder, Ron Carswell's home embodies green. Our last stop on the innovative home tour, the Carswell residence is truly an amazing example of sustainability and conservation.

When we arrived at the home, after obtaining our daily workout in the Arizona sun by walking up a hill to reach the home, we caught our breath and again, "wows" came forth from our mouths.

The first aspect of the green home that we noticed before we entered was the "solar wall," rather the "double glazed wall with low-e windows 12 feet high by 65 feet long," Carswell said.

"Through material choice, solar orientation and use of shade, our home in the desert saves more than 75 percent of the utility costs of a conventional 'stick and stucco' house," he added.

Upon entering the Carswell home, we walked into a great room with high ceiling fans circulating the air. To the right was another large room, containing a TV-watching area and the kitchen which featured a large rectangular window over the sink. This large window created an outdoor feel to the kitchen, connecting the kitchen with the scenic view outdoors. To the left of the kitchen was a sliding door leading to the pool area and extended view of Tucson.

Walking past the great room and turning right, down a hallway, you'll find two bedrooms, two bathrooms and an office. The home sits in a u-shape, with the pool/back patio area in the middle.

Now that you're acquainted with a visual layout of the home, on to the good, green stuff!

The Carswell residence comprises straw bale insulation, framing and roofing systems made out of steel, evaporative coolers (which are strategically shaded by honeysuckle vines), windows and sliding doors framed by wood, roof overhangs that provide shade, a fiberglass pool, efficienty appliances, LED lighting and fluroescent lighting and so much more.

"My design criteria honors the seven generation belief that you build not just for the present, since the home could be inhabited for hundreds of years, we need flexibility," Carswell said. "Our luxurious hilltop straw bale home demonsrates that energy conservation is practical and affordable, in any size and style of building, in any climate, in any market."

Overall, the home tour was amazing. And although we didn't get the chance to visit every house along the way, the three that I highlighted are only a fraction of how going green can be done in the home.

Happy Eco-Designing!

Mercado District of Menlo Park: Part II of The Tucson Innovative Home Tour

Continuing last week's innovative home tour, our second stop was in the Mercado District of Menlo Park, rather a remote town in Spain or Mexico because of its unique appearance and international atmosphere-- but in Tucson.

Walking through the courtyard, in between two rows of lavish homes, we were attracted to how large and design-stricken the structures were. Upon entering one of the homes, a small entry courtyard invited us to continue our tour through the home.

Walking through the front door, we all gasped "wows."

Developed by Street Scene, the Mercado District homes couple design with energy-efficient architecture.

"Street Scene Development is the culmination of two visionary companies, Stellar Gray Fine Homes and Rammed Earth Development. Stellar Gray, renowned for developing authentic adobe villages, creates organic architecture influenced by regional and historical design. Rammed Earth Development specializes in authentic rammed earth and adobe construction. The vision and focus of Street Scene is to design and build homes with sustainable materials, creating neighborhoods that feel integrated with their environments - a sense of belonging in the Sonoran Desert," according to the Street Scene Development Web site.

Houses built with adobe bricks offer the lowest amount of embodied energy and the "average adobe brick home is made using only 10 percent of the embodied energy used for the construction of a typical modern house," according to the Adobe Building Systems, LLC, Web site.

Homes built with adobe bricks are heat resistant, keeping the homes cool in the summer heat and warm in the winter. Adobe exterior and interior walls need little maintenance and are "vermin-proof, dust-free, fire-proof, flood-proof, insect-proof, bullet-proof, rust-proof, water-proof, and can be wiped clean with a sponge. Since adobe is non-toxic, the walls are also non-allergenic," according to the Adobe Building Systems site.

So, if you're looking for beautiful design that meets green architecture using adobe as the structures prime building material, the Mercado District stands as a great example of just that! Besides, having a home that's bullet proof is pretty cool if you think about it...

indigoMODERN: Part I of The Tucson Innovative Home Tour

Saturday, November 3, Tucsonans had the chance to view 15 homes at 10 different locations around town that are advanced in energy-efficient savings, practices and design. The Tucson Innovative Home Tour featured homes that have won awards, along with homes awaiting to win awards for their eco-friendly structures, also educating the general public about innovative approaches to designing homes with sustainability and conservation in mind.

Deciding to attend the tour with three other fellow Cat Scanners since they chose to cover it for a special class assignment, I tagged along and was extremely glad that I did!

We traveled around town, stopping at three different home locations; indigoMODERN, the Mercado District of Menlo Park at Rio Nuevo and the Carswell Residence.


This entry will consist of three parts, the first discussing indigoMODERN and what the development has incorporated in its design that's "green."

Indigo Modern is located along the 3rd Street bike path. The beautifully modern townhouses comprise superb architecture, intertwining effective and energy-efficient design. The units are also TEP guaranteed and charged $42.08 a month for heating and cooling.

When we arrived at the townhouses site, we were amazed at how modern, clean and new the structures looked. After briefly talking with Warren Michaels, representative for Metro Realty Advisors, LLC, about Indigo Modern and its green efforts, we showed ourselves around the home, admiring its simplicity and decision to be a sustainable home.


Innovative measures taken in an Indigo Modern home include:
pre-wired for solar
pre-planned for solar hot water
passive solar shading
rain water harvesting
xeriscaping
TEP guaranteed
community pool-with a salt water system
toto toilets(dual flush upgrade)
bamboo flooring
low-e glass/windows
xenon kitchen lighting
compact florescent lighting
solatube skylight
hardiplank siding
standing seam steel siding and fencing
timbor-wood preservation, insecticide, fungicide
dunn edwards eco-shield paint
blown-in cellulose insulation
green series sealants
polished integra color concrete floors
photovoltaic panels
solar hot water heater
passive solar sun shade door