net zero

ON THE BOARDS: Blueplate PR Client Arielle Condoret Schechter, AIA, Designs Modern, Net-Zero-Ready Cliff-Hanger in Western NC

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RENDERING OF FUTURE MILLER-McWEENEY HOUSE, NORTHSIDE

Calling the site for this project “one of the tightest little corners I’ve ever had to make something fit,” Chapel Hill architect Arielle Condoret Schechter, AIA, has designed a modern, sustainable home on a mountainside in Swannanoa, NC, a tiny township between Asheville and Black Mountain, NC.

Designed for P.J. Miller, a musician, and artist Katie McWeeney, the two-story, modern, thoroughly “green” house will hug the flat part of the couple’s cliff-side property and include three bedrooms, two baths, an open kitchen/dining/living core, two studios/workspaces, two carports, and abundant decking for outdoor living and connectivity between the indoors and outdoors.

Chief among Schechter’s inspirations for this design was the couple’s lament over never having enough kitchen, workspace, or studio space in previous homes. “We’re trying to remedy that in this house,” she said, accepting the challenge despite the restrictive size of the property’s buildable area.

RENDERING OF MILLER-McWEENEY HOUSE, SOUTHWEST ELEVATION

Actually, the site’s verticality helped her solve the studio/workspace problem. She’s tucked two studios beneath the living spaces, along with carports/loading zones on each end. The loading zones will create sightlines and open-air spaces within the entire volume, she pointed out, “and create the sort of positive-negative composition I like.”

Along with art and music, Miller and McSweeney enjoy cooking, baking, and hosting cooking classes. To enhance their passion, the Schechter-designed kitchen will provide a profusion of natural lighting along with an open, professionally planned interior.

Will the Miller-McWeeney home contribute to Schechter’s ever-expanding portfolio of net-zero residential designs?

“Yes, of course,” she said emphatically. “Our goal for all our houses is to be net-zero, net-positive or at the very least, net-zero-ready.” The latter means that the completed house will be wired and plumbed for solar panels to be installed in the future. “That, plus rooftop water collection for gardening should make this a very sustainable house for this great couple to enjoy.”

For more information on the architect and her work, visit acsarchitect.com.

HOME BUILDER DIGEST: “The 18 Best Residential Architects in North Carolina”

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North Carolina is one of the most popular states to live in the country. The “Triangle” region of the state, which includes Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, provides visitors and residents with a myriad of reasons to enjoy the state…

For those considering relocating to the region and those seeking to upgrade their North Carolina homes, the best residential architects are necessary. 

The [HBD list] showcases the best residential architects in North Carolina. These firms were selected based on their experiences in residential designs, awards won, years in the industry, and media coverage, and they are the best in the industry. (Click here to see the entire list.)…

…Arielle Condoret Schechter, AIA, Architect

A fine example of the firm’s accomplished projects is Wolf-Huang Residence on Lake Orange, NC. Photo by Tzu Chen

What separates multi-award-winning firm Arielle Condoret Schechter, Architect, from the other architects is a clear understanding of how each project is about more than designing an exceptional space. Each project has the capacity to enhance people’s lives and lifestyles, and this small firm is dedicated to doing exactly that. READ MORE

CHAPEL HILL MAGAZINE: “Lake Living — Two world travelers set down sustainable roots on Lake Orange”

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Another exemplary modern, minimalist, sustainable, custom-designed home by Blueplate PR client Arielle Condoret Schechter, AIA, is featured in the Jan/Feb. 2022 edition of Chapel Hill Magazine (page 57).

Writer: Morgan Cartier Weston. Photographer: John Michael Simpson

Homeowners Tom Wolf and Yiqing Huang and the lakeside elevation of their new home on Lake Orange.
“We needed someone to maximize every square inch of buildable space,” Tom said. So they turned to Chapel Hill architect Arielle Condoret Schechter, AIA, “to execute their vision…”

CLICK HERE to read the entire article

CLICK HERE for more information on the architect

Chapel Hill Magazine features another modern, sustainable, custom home by Blueplate PR client Arielle Condoret Schechter.

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By Morgan Cartier Wester | Photography by John Michael Simpson

To view the entire article in the January/February 2022 edition of Chapel Hill Magazine, click below and go to page 57.
January/February 2022

Blueplate PR client’s Modern, Net Zero residential project featured on AMAZING ARCHITECTURE.com

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The Baboolal House by Arielle Condoret Schechter, AIA

Front elevation, screened side porch (Photo by Tzu Chen)

by Naser Nader Ibrahim

The Baboolal residence is a net zero house for a multicultural family of four. The husband is Indian originally from South Africa and the wife is American. They are both in high stress professions: he is a pediatric anesthesiologist and she is a pediatric nurse. They have two small children and pets.

The impetus for building this house was their previous frustration with living in a cookie cutter developer house with a lot of wasted space and illogical planning.

They decided to build a custom house that would give them openness for family time, while also creating privacy and quiet areas for the parents to rest between shifts and for the kids to have their own spaces. Also, an immediate connection between indoor and outdoor space was part of the brief. READ MORE…

RESIDENTIAL DESIGN Features Arielle Condoret Schechter’s Baboolal House in Spring Edition

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PHOTOS BY TZU CHEN

The Baboolal Residence, one of the newest modern, Net Zero houses designed by Chapel Hill-based architect Arielle Condoret Schechter, AIA, is featured in the current print and digital editions of RESIDENTIAL DESIGN magazine.

The Baboolal Residence is a modestly sized single-family home for a family of four. “…At every turn on this project, [Arielle] prioritized the qualities of light, views, and building performance over superficial, budget-busting bling,” observes the magazine’s renowned editor, Claire Conroy.

The nine-page spread includes Arielle’s site and floor plans along with architectural photography by Tzu Chen of Raleigh.

Arielle’s project is one of three houses highlighted in the magazine’s “Design Lab” section, described in this edition as “Modesty Becomes Them: Three modern dwellings find expression in understatement.”

Residential Design is a relatively new, but already award-winning, publication “for architects and builders of distinctive homes.” The print edition is published six times a year.

The Baboolal Residence has also been featured recently in Contemporist.com and Inhabitat.com, the latter with the headline, “No waste, no carbon, no wonder this net-zero home breaks the mold.” “

For more information on Arielle Condoret Schechter and her projects, visit acsarchitect.com.

Home Builder Digest Names Arielle Condoret Schechter, AIA, One of the Best Architects in the Triangle

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Arielle Schechter, a registered architect recognized by the A.I.A., has made a name for herself in the Triangle area for her nationally recognized custom houses, Micropolis micro-houses, and mid century renovations. She is currently based in Chapel Hill. For over 26 years, she has specialized in warm, energy-efficient, and modernist residential architecture, including cutting-edge Net-Zero design and passive house construction.  Schechter studied at the North Carolina State University (NCSU) School of Design where she studied with Frank Harmon and Harwell Harris. After graduating in 1987, she worked on several projects with her father, renowned Chapel Hill architect Jon Condoret, until the mid-1990s when she became principal of her own firm…READ MORE

The award-winning Haw River House at dusk. Photo by Tzu Chen

RETHINKING THE FUTURE.com: “Baboolal Residence by Arielle Schechter Architect”

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Blueplate PR client’s net zero project is featured on an international platform that recognizes and acknowledges design talents from all over the world.

PHOTOS BY TZU CHEN

The Baboolal residence is a net zero house is for a multicultural family of four. The husband is Indian originally from South Africa and the wife is American. They are both in high stress professions: he is a pediatric anesthesiologist and she is a pediatric nurse. They have two small children and pets.

The impetus for building this house was their previous frustration with living in a cookie cutter developer house with a lot of wasted space and illogical planning. READ MORE

 

CONTEMPORIST: “A Roof Covered in Solar Panels Allows This Home To Be A Net-Zero Energy House”

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(Photos by Tzu Chen)

The newest modern, sustainable, custom home designed by Blueplate PR client Arielle Condoret Schechter, AIA, of Chapel Hill receives an extensive spread on Contemporist.com. To read the full story and see all of photographer Tzu Chen’s beautiful images, click HERE.

Arielle Condoret Schechter’s “Haw River House” Wins Matsumoto Prize

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The Paradis-Zimmerman home earns second place in the coveted Jury Awards category.

1.Haw River House drone view copy 2PHOTOS BY TZU CHEN

The modern, Net Zero house that Chapel Hill, NC, architect Arielle Condoret Schechter, AIA, designed for Kate Paradis and Scott Zimmerman received a high honor last week. Perched on a rocky knoll overlooking the rapids, the “Haw River House” received Second Place in the prestigious Jury Awards category during the 2020 George Matsumoto Prize, which recognizes excellence in modernist residential design.

NC Modernist, a nationally recognized educational non-profit organization, created the Matsumoto Prize in 2012 to honor modernist architect George Matsumoto, FAIA, one of the founding faculty members of North Carolina State University’s College of Design. The awards ceremony took place online this year.

HR2_Riverside elevation

According to NC Modernist executive director George Smart, the 2020 jury members “seemed to agree at the outset” that the 2600-square-foot house in the forest above the Haw River would be one of the three winners out of the 21 submissions.

“This is one of the houses I’m most proud of in my career so far,” Schechter said after the awards were presented. “I grew up on a river, New Hope Creek, which haunts me to this day. I hope I can work on other river-fronting houses because I feel tied to them.”

Arielle Schechter is known for giving her clients distinctly modern, environmentally sustainable houses that create as much or more energy than they use – i.e., Net Zero. The 2600-square-foot Haw River House is one of those. And like the others, it reflects its place — in this case, a harsh, remote, yet beautiful setting surrounded by a forest. Cantilevered decks and porches echo the angles of old trees that grow out over the water from the rocky riverbank. The butterfly roof references a huge, cleft boulder on the property that acts as a natural trough for rainwater.

Haw River House-47

The owners’ desire to enjoy constant, panoramic views of the river resulted in the floorplan’s clear orientation towards the river, the extensive glazing on the river-facing side, and those porches and decks that extend the interior living spaces outdoors.

“At night, the house glows like a lantern in the forest,” Schechter notes in the video she produced for the competition.

For more information on Arielle Condoret Schechter and more details about this award-winning Net Zero house, visit acsarchitect.com.

About the Matsumoto Prize and the 2020 Jury

The Matsumoto Prize focuses on the houses rather than the designers. Therefore, any residential designer — registered architect or not — may submit a modernist house he or she has designed as long as the house is located in North Carolina. For more information: ncmodernist.org/matsumotoprize.

Each year, a carefully selected jury of professionals selects the top three winners for the Jury Awards while a People’s Choice component invites public voting. This year, the jury included architects Toshiko Mori, FAIA, of New York; Barbara Bestor, FAIA, of Los Angeles; Stella Betts, New York; Annabelle Selldorf, FAIA, New York ; Hugh Kaptur, FAIA, Palm Springs, CA; Harry Wolf, FAIA, Los Angeles; and California architect/author/historian Alan Hess.

3.Haw River House_Cisterns