Introduction
the
story of the Urban Cottage – at least thus far.
UPDATE: The Urban Cottage achieved PLATINUM level
LEED for Homes certification on March 23, 2011!
The beginning of our venture into small and green living spaces probably started in 2002. I took an early retirement from architecture after 35 years in the commercial/industrial field and Bernie wrangled a leave of absence from her job as an architectural drafter. We left our 2,200 square foot, 1927 home in the Kenilworth neighborhood of Asheville, North Carolina to spend the summer months pulling a 22-foot travel trailer across western United States.
After laying
in a supply of junior-sized kitchen utensils and coat-hangers, and a short
period of adjustment we found that living in only 180 square feet wasn’t so
bad. We gained useful experience in the
art of living light. When we returned
home our old home felt absolutely huge.
Soon afterward were the $400 a month winter heating bills. Not to mention finding more of the never
ending maintenance chores that older homes require. We had to ask ourselves if we owned the
house, or did the house own us? Maybe it
was time to downsize.
We did – by
over 50 percent. We moved to a small townhouse in a lovely community setting in
West Asheville. Four yard sales and
numerous trips to the Habitat Home Store helped us shed enough stuff to fit
into our new surroundings. It had a very
sophisticated central solar hot water heating system and up to date
insulation. Our utility bills dropped
and we enjoyed the walkable neighborhood.
While not
really planning to build ourselves, we maintained an active interest in the
“not too big” movement in residential design and sustainable construction
technology. Our bookshelves groaned under the load of small house design books
and green construction literature.
After six
years the urge to design our own space with even more up-to-date green features finally awoke within us both. We knew we wanted to stay within walking
distance of the
From the very start, building it for possible LEED
(Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certification was one of our goals. We knew we could live small and had learned a little about what green features were realistic and affordable in our area. But, there was no way we could do it all ourselves. So we started asking around about people we could ask to join our team. Our area is fortunate in having a wealth of professionals knowledgeable about (and dedicated to) green and energy-efficient building. We made some wonderful connections and we were on our way.