ATOMIC RANCH: “Net Zero: No Problem”

How a North Carolina architect created a private and environmentally sustainable home for a couple to break free of traditional living.

By Lauren Hofer | Photos by Keith Isaacs

PROPANE.com: “Harsh Riverfront Site Inspires Spectacular Net Zero Home”

Greywater collection, renewable energy, and a propane generator keep this Haw River dwelling resilient and self-sustaining. Photos by Tzu Chen

When architect Arielle Condoret Schechter’s clients purchased the dazzling 21-acre strip of land that would become their home on the Haw River in North Carolina, the seller had a simple condition: He wanted them to build a home that was environmentally responsible.

The buyers granted his wish by hiring Schechter, a residential architect known for building net zero or passive houses with an ultramodern aesthetic. And his directive became the first of many ways the land would dictate Schechter’s design for the Haw River House.

“It is just spectacular out there,” Schechter says. “It’s like nothing I’ve ever had a chance to work on as far as primal beauty goes.” READ MORE

The Paradis-Zimmerman house overlooks the Haw River rapids from its perch on a rocky knoll surrounded by a forest.

ARCHITECTS + ARTISANS: “Six Winners in the Matsumoto Competition”

By Micheal Welton (Photo by Tzu Chen)

It couldn’t have happened to a nicer place.

The top two winners in the 2020 Matsumoto Prize competition – for both juried and people’s choice awards – are sited on one of Carolina’s most sought-after beaches…

…Second place in the juried competition went to Arielle C. Schechter’s Haw River House. “‘It’s just enough house for the site,’ was one of the comments,” he says. Third place went to Haymond House, by Tonic Design’s Vinny Petrarca and Katherine Hogan… READ MORE

 

Arielle Condoret Schechter on the Benefits of Precast/Prefab Concrete Walls

Susan Bady, senior editor of Professional Builder and Custom Builder magazines, recently asked Arielle for a few comments about precast concrete components in residential architecture. Is she still incorporating precast in her residential projects? Why? Does she think the use of precast concrete in homebuilding will increase in the near future? Following was her response…

The Happy Meadows Courtyard House features precast concrete walls.

I like the precast concrete wall system we use because it combines customization within the prefab process. The walls are fabricated by a local company one town away and they don’t mind that I use custom window sizes and custom wall heights.

My clients love it for a lot of reasons, especially the low maintenance aspect, termite resistance, and increased fire resistance on the exterior (although usually, we have wood truss roofs, so it’s not a totally fireproof house).

My clients also love the “thrill-factor” of seeing their exterior walls go up via a crane in two days, which does translate into lower labor costs.

Yet precast concrete is a more expensive system than standard wood framing, and that may hinder its wide acceptance in the home building industry.  But I think there will always be those who will want all the other benefits that prefab concrete offers. ~ Arielle Condoret Schechter, AIA

 

AEC CAFE: “Haw River Net Zero Passive House in Chatham County, North Carolina, by Arielle Condoret Schechter, AIA”

By Sanjay Gangal 

The clients — an artist and an attorney — asked for a “very sustainable yet super-modern” house for their blended family, which is generously populated with children and beloved dogs. And they wanted the type of house that Arielle Condoret Schechter is known for: modern, Net Zero, Passive house-rated with clean lines and clear volumes and open, uncluttered interior spaces filled with sunlight, panoramic views, and easy access to the outdoors.

PHOTO © TZU CHEN PHOTOGRAPHY

Perched on a knoll above the Haw River rapids in Chatham County, the 2600-square-foot house was designed to be perfectly at home within its wooded site. READ MORE

 

Green Building & Design magazine celebrates Arielle Schechter and four of her recent residential projects

As GB&D‘s newest “Architect to Watch,” Arielle Schechter, founder and principal of the Chapel Hill firm Arielle Condoret Schechter, AIA, Architect, received a six-page spread in the international magazine’s summer of 2020 edition, which is arriving in subscribers’ mailboxes this week. The full feature spotlights three of the firm’s most recent custom-designed Net Zero houses.

 “A lot of my clients don’t start out as green as they end up being. Somehow, over the process of design, they get really excited about it. That makes me so unreasonably happy.”

Founded in 2009 by publisher Chris Howe, Green Building & Design is a professional, or trade, publication that “connects and inspires green building professionals by partnering with those at the forefront of sustainable design, development, planning, and policy.” As a reliable, award-winning source for architects, builders, and developers, GB&D features projects, products, and trends that support the magazine’s mission: “to create a more sustainable world.”

The previous ACS Press post includes the link to the article on GB&D‘s website. Below is how it appears in print!

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The print version of Green Building & Design is available solely through subscription.

AECCafe.com: “Haw River Net Zero Passive House in Chatham County, North Carolina by Arielle Condoret Schechter, AIA”

by Sanjay Gangal | photos by Tzu Chen Photography

The clients, an artist and an attorney, asked for a “very sustainable yet super-modern” house for their blended family, which is generously populated with children and beloved dogs. And they wanted the type of house that Arielle Condoret Schechter is known for: modern, Net Zero, Passive house-rated with clean lines and clear volumes and open, uncluttered interior spaces filled with sunlight, panoramic views, and easy access to the outdoors.

• Architect: Arielle Condoret Schechter, AIA
• Project: Haw River Net Zero Passive House
• Location: Chatham County, North Carolina
• Photography: Tzu Chen Photography
• Owners: Kate Paradis and Scott Zimmerman
• Completed: 2019
• Software used: ARCHICAD by Graphisoft    READ MORE

 

GREEN BUILDING & DESIGN – Architect To Watch series: “Arielle Schechter on How Japan Inspires Her Design Philosophy”

This architect builds for the North Carolina climate and for clients who crave sustainability.

By Jessica Mordaco

Light is the most important factor in architect Arielle Schechter’s design philosophy. Much of her design inspiration comes from Japanese architects who use screens and overhangs to block the sun while creating a seamless translucence from outdoors to indoors—that, and modernist design that connects inside spaces to nature. Schechter became interested in her craft at a young age, growing up with a famous mid-century architect as a father. “I always thought I’d work for him but, when he died, I had a lot of things I wanted to say in architecture,” she says. “I totally believe there’s no point in designing anything, much less a green building unless you’re going to make it wonderful for the people who live in it, too.”

“I really don’t care how much money I make. I just want to get people to stop buying cookie-cutter, badly built developer houses that don’t have an architect involved because they’re inefficient.” ~ Arielle Schechter

READ MORE…

INHABITAT: “Modern net-zero home sits in harmony with its woodland surroundings.”

 

By Nichol Jewell | Photos by Tzu Chen

Chapel Hill-based firm Arielle Condoret Schechter is known for its commitment to building sustainable homes that don’t sacrifice elegance or comfort. The company’s latest work includes the spacious Haw River House, which was built with several efficient features to create a net-zero energy home that is seamlessly linked with its natural surroundings.

Tucked into a pristine woodland overlooking the Haw River, which runs through central North Carolina, the beautiful Haw River House sits in harmony with the landscape. Using this natural setting as inspiration, the 2,600-square-foot house is outfitted with several energy-efficient features that make it completely energy-neutral. READ MORE

ARCHITECTS + ARTISANS: “A Hawk’s-Eye View from a Haw River Home”

By J. Mike Welton | Photos by Tzu Chen

For a new home on the Haw River in North Carolina’s Chatham County, architect Arielle Schechter found her inspiration in two places.

One was the river. The other was a rock.

“Walking down by the riverbank, there were so many trees cantilevered and bent out over the river, that I said: ‘I want this house to bend out over the river too,” she says.

She placed the home on the only available buildable knoll since the 21-acre site slopes steeply down to a flood plain and riparian buffer below.

As for the rock, it actually was a huge granite boulder, split down the center. “It’s super-sculptural with a thin knife-blade through the middle where rainwater flows,” she says. “The idea of bisecting something appealed to me, so I did that with the butterfly roof.”

Then there was the raptor. READ MORE