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Concrete Homes Newsletter
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Concrete Homes Newsletter > 2005 > January/February
January/February 2005
Giant Development with a Gentle Footprint
The matriarch of any family usually has the most profound presence while
using the gentlest approach. So it should come as no surprise that
Alys Beach, a sustainable, concrete home development named for the mother
of a local
family, will leave as little impact on the environment as possible.
Alys
Beach, a 599-home traditional neighborhood development, is located
on 158 acres of Florida panhandle. It’s in the first phase of an 8–10
year build out. “The idea for this community was born about 2 ½ years
ago, and we’re very happy with the way it’s progressing,” said
Shelton Stone, project manager of Alys Beach. When completed, concrete
masonry homes, adorned with white stucco and concrete roof tile, will
surround a
177,000 square foot community center. The community center will house
a newsstand, shops, fitness club, euro-style market and restaurants.
The neighborhood will employ a design philosophy called New Urbanism. Its
goal is to give residents the ability to walk or ride their bicycles to run
their errands or enjoy some recreation. In addition to the community center,
there will also be multiple swimming pools, parks, playgrounds, nature and
running trails and tennis courts throughout Alys Beach.
The largest concrete home development in the U.S. is going to be among the
most sustainable. Every commercial and residential building will be built
with concrete, giving the community the most durable and energy-efficient
homes. Solar orientation, passive heating and cooling and a geothermal system,
combined with concrete walls, will lower heating and cooling costs for residents.
Several gardens, along with a 22 acre nature park, will help preserve the
landscape of this Gulf Coast community. Hedges will be used to surround the
tennis courts instead of traditional fencing. While cars will be allowed,
the emphasis on pedestrian pathways will reduce traffic pollution.
With the devastation of this year’s hurricanes still fresh in every
Florida resident’s memory, the developers of Alys Beach committed to
building to the Fortified…for safer living® standards. Sponsored by
the Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), the Fortified program
specifies code-plus construction, design and landscaping guidelines to increase
a new home's resistance to natural disaster from the ground up. Durable wall
systems, impact-resistant windows and hail and wind-resistant roofing are
some of the materials that meet the Fortified criteria. “We’re
very pleased to be working with a partner of this caliber on the first-ever
totally Fortified community,” said Charles Vance, IBHS’ Fortified
Program Administrator.
It’s not often a large development has a minimal effect on the earth.
But Alys Beach is doing everything it can to be gentle.
The official website of Alys Beach is www.alysbeach.com.
The New American Home Update
The New American Home, the official Show Home of the National Association
of Home Builders (NAHB) is ready to be unveiled at the 2005 International
Builders’ Show in Orlando. The Portland Cement Association (PCA) and
the Florida Concrete and Products Association (FCPA) played a major role
in this year’s home by coordinating concrete product donations and
providing technical expertise.
FCPA member organizations that donated ready-mixed concrete and/or concrete
masonry units include Cemex USA, Holcim, Florida Rock Industries, Rinker
Materials, RMC Industries, and Tarmac. Additional concrete products were
provided by Cast-Crete Corporation, which supplied precast concrete lintels
and Hanson Roof Tiles.
Builder Kim Goehring of Goehring and Morgan Construction, Inc., boasts that
TNAH is the "safest home in Orlando." That just might be true,
as the 9,036 square foot home weathered three hurricanes in the fall and
during construction with barely a hitch. Concrete masonry framing is just
one safety component of the home that came into play during the hurricanes.
The New American Home 2005 is clad with Portland cement stucco and concrete
roof tiles, providing additional protection against Mother Nature.
The home's exterior relies heavily on concrete for its artistic
side.
Decorative concrete pavers adorn the centrally focused courtyard,
and concrete masonry retaining walls help fulfill the Mediterranean architectural
theme.
The home will be open for tours to attendees of the Builders’ Show,
which takes place January 13–16 at the Orange County Convention Center.
Buses will run hourly from the Convention Center to the master-planned
Baldwin Park development where TNAH is located. A sign-up booth will be
available each day in the lobby of the Convention Center. Goehring and
Morgan Construction has plans to open the home for public tours after the
Builders’ Show, with any proceeds being donated to a local charitable
organization.
For more information about TNAH, visit www.TNAH.com.
*Photos courtesy of the TNAH Official website.
NCMA/PCA 2005 Residential Design Symposium
IV Goes to Orlando
The fourth annual Residential Design Symposium, sponsored
by the National Concrete Masonry Association (NCMA) and the Portland Cement
Association PCA is scheduled for January 12, 2005, one day in advance of
the opening of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) International
Builders Show (IBS) in Orlando, Florida.
The preliminary agenda includes a tour of not only some of the IBS Show
Homes in Baldwin Park, a development where concrete masonry homes are built,
but presentations by David Weekley Homes, a company ranked 23rd out of the
100 largest volume builders list in the United States and the most recognized
builder in America. David Weekley Homes builds in 14 cities from Colorado
to Florida and is the second largest privately held builder in America. Attendees
will also visit some of the homes being built by Weekley Homes from beginning
construction to finished homes.
As a builder, come and hear the future of the housing industry and witness
for yourself the construction methods of building concrete masonry
homes for the 21st century.
For additional information or questions, call
(703) 713-1900 or visit www.ncma.org.
Cement-based Products Featured in Multiple Show Homes
The Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH) will display
twin two-story townhouses in Reed Construction's Show Village at
the International Builders’ Show in Orlando on Jan. 13-16. Each townhouse
is 1,628 square-feet.
One of the
PATH Tutorial Townhouses is unfinished so that builders can see
exposed building products that promote affordability, energy-efficiency,
durability and quality; diminish the home’s impact on the environment;
and protect it from natural disasters.
The finished townhouse will feature fiber cement siding for
exterior cladding.
For the official website of the Townhouses, click
here. Thanks to Nation's Building News Online for excerpts in the above article.
Sarah Susanka's Not So Big Showhouse 2005 will be open for
tours during IBS, January 13 - 16, 2005. Free shuttles to the Showhouse
will be available from the South Building
at the Orange County Convention Center.
ICFs, courtesy of Amvic, and fiber cement siding, courtesy of James Hardie,
are used in this sustainable Showhouse.
This full-scale project demonstrates the design concepts of architect and
author Sarah Susanka, while incorporating the principles of energy
efficiency and sustainability found in SBIC's Green Building Guidelines
and the Department
of Energy's Building America program.
With technical oversight from building science expert Steve Easley, as well
as The Green Builder™ Ron Jones, the Showhouse Tour presents visitors
with a multiple-media learning experience hosted and narrated by Sarah, Steve
and Ron.
The official website of the Showhouse is http://notsobigshowhouse.com/. PCA is a proud sponsor of SBIC's Green Building Guidelines. "Not So Big
and Green, Too", an IBS educational program, will be held at the Show
on January 13th from 3:30pm to 5:00pm. To register, click here.
Concrete Industry Exhibits in the Concrete Pavilion
In the West Hall of the Orange County Convention Center, 38 companies featuring
cement-based products and/or accessories will firmly establish the
industry's presence at the International Builders' Show.
At 11,650 sq. ft., this is the largest Concrete Pavilion in the history
of the International Builders’ Show. The 17th annual Pavilion has many
familiar faces, as well as eight new organizations, representing removable
forms,
masonry products, ICFs, AAC, retaining walls, exterior veneers, post-tensioning,
decorative flatwork products and accessories for making your next home
even easier to build.
PCA, in booth W5071, serves as the chief source
of information
for the Concrete Pavilion, with PCA staff and promoters from around
the country ready to answer your questions. For more information, contact Mike Collignon of the Portland Cement Association
at mcollignon@cement.org.
Florida Housing Authority Approves VBuck Block-Out System with ICFs
The Florida Building Authority has approved the application submitted by
Vinyl Technologies Inc. for statewide use of the VBuck vinyl door and
window block-out system in homes built with insulating concrete forms
(ICFs).
The VBuck system allows contractors to avoid the hassle of using wooden
block-outs. VBuck is a lightweight, time-saving alternative for window
and door block-outs. All window and door shapes and sizes can be pre-manufactured
and easily installed at the jobsite by just one person.
"ICFs are the next generation of high-quality, energy-efficient homes,"
said Justin Anderson, president of Vinyl Technologies. "It only makes
sense for a 21st century home to have 21st century window and door
block-outs. Now, thanks to the Florida Building Authority, the VBuck
system is easier than ever to include in a new home."
Thanks to Concrete Monthly for this article.
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