Hudson Valley, NY Net-Zero Community Development
Location: New York, NY
Exteriors
We are designing a 2,000 home net zero community in Hudson Valley, NY here at Urban A&O, Inc. We use our "carbon triangle" to choose low carbon material selections: Hempcrete, Black Shou Sugi Ban wood siding, reclaimed wood interiors, Glulam rafters, cork flooring, and Tesla solar shingles. We aggregated parking to the periphery of each residential cluster, EV charging and solar array canopies. Our solution to the power problem is geothermal.
The developer client was fascinated by the look of rammed earth, which we typically associate with the Southwest. We re-examined the chemistry of the soil that we sourced locally, and removed the Portland cement in favor of a proprietary organic binder and for cold climates, used recycled insulation between the 6" rammed earth walls.
Interiors
The residential interiors of the Hudson Valley project designed by Urban A&O, Inc. are organized around accessible internal terrariums that bring daylight deep into living spaces. The rammed earth walls are always structural and give a sense of compression, we're using cork floors and reclaimed local barn board walls and ceilings. The fixtures and fittings are reconditioned from local suppliers.
There is a main retail/commercial spine that gives direction and serves as an organizing device for the residential clusters. The cluster floor plans are inspired by arguably the most famous single family residence in the world, the Villa Planchart, designed by Gio Ponti, Caracas, 1953-57.
