Harriman Associates Leaves Hollywood A Winner

I just returned from the SMPS conference, Build Business, held in Hollywood California.  In addition to the educational sessions jam packed with fellow marketers and business development professionals, the conference hosted a black tie gala to honor recipients of the Marketing Communications Awards. 

Lisa Stevens of Harriman Associates, based in Auburn Maine, took home second place in the holiday piece category.  She came up with the idea to have each firm principal share their favorite recipe and then placed them into a round tin.  Congratulations to Lisa and Harriman Associates on the achievement.

Join the Maine chapter of SMPS at our annual social on September 13th at 4-7pm at UNA in Portland.  Check out the website for details.

USGBC-Maine Hosts Private Tour of Two WR homes

Yesterday the Maine chapter of the USGBC hosted a private tour of three environmentally significant homes in the Freeport area.  Attendees included representatives from the Maine State Housing Authority, Department of Environmental Protection, area architects, realtors and builders.

The first home, called the Harmony Opus II, is currently awaiting LEED certified status and submitted for gold level.  The home features bamboo flooring, paperstone countertops, dual pressure flushing toilets, balloon framing, ICF and a geothermal system.  Chris Briley of Green Design Studios and Joshua Fedorka of Symphony Construction led the informative tour.

The second home on the tour was the Cranberry Ridge project on Wolfs Neck Road.  It was designed by Richard Renner Architects and is being built by us (Wright-Ryan).  This project is still under construction, will be submitting for gold certification and is currently for sale.  The tour, led by Ian Parlin of Richard Renner Architects, and Ben MacDonald of Wright-Ryan Construction, concentrated on the passive solar design + pv panels, advanced framing techniques, radiant heating system and cellulose insulation.  There will be other tours when the project is further along.

Lastly, the tour stopped by the Ridge House in South Freeport.  This home, designed by Winton Scott Architects has been featured on New England Cable News in their Dream House show, The Boston Globe, Portland Magazine and Maine Boats, Homes + Harbors.  It was the 2003 recipient of the Maine AIA Award.

Architects Comments

Here are some images from a recent site visit. Mike’s crew is working fast to make up for some lost time due to the bad weather we’ve had recently so things are changing on a daily basis. The triple-glazed fiberglass windows had just arrived on site the day before my visit so by the next time I go back I’m sure they will have a few in place.

From the interior you can see some of the advanced framing techniques which save materials and actually contribute to a better insulated building. Headers over window and door openings in the exterior walls are kept to the outside face of the wall to allow insulation on the inside, and in non-load bearing exterior walls no headers were used at all thus allowing maximum insulation. Roof rafters, wall studs and floor joists are all aligned vertically to transfer loads directly to the foundation which also makes the system more efficient.

The exterior shot is of the north side of the house where there are few window openings, this is part of the passive solar design to reduce heat loss. Windows on the south elevation are protected by overhangs and exterior sunshades, these were sized to allow maximum sunlight into the house in the winter and to shade the windows in the summer. The large steep roof plays a role in the active solar design by supporting the photovoltaic cells and solar water heating system on the south-facing roof pitch.

I’ll be back on site next week and will return here with more photos and another update.

Architect and Builder Speak Up

Great news readers!  Ian Parlin, project architect for Richard Renner Architects, and Ben MacDonald, project engineer for Wright-Ryan, will be contributing to this blog about the LEED pilot home project on a regular basis.  Now there will be a greater opportunity to learn from the professionals about the process, the challenges and what they might do differently next time.  You can post comments and questions to this blog so feel free to use it as an educational tool.