“This low-energy farmhouse is a net zero architectural re-set for a Californian client, an East Coast relocation for a more engaged and low-key lifestyle”
Photos by Tzu Chen Photography.
By Jonathan Bell
North Carolina, where this low-energy farmhouse is located, is a long way from California; but that was the scope of the move made by Arielle Schechter’s client when they decided on a wholesale change in outlook and lifestyle. The chosen site for [this] Net Zero Farmhouse was ideal for agricultural use, bordering a small creek. The surrounding land is a mix of native grass meadow and woodland, with unspoilt views in every direction. READ MORE
THE REDDY-YU RESIDENCE NEARING COMPLETION. A LARGE SCREENED PORCH EXTENDS THE LIVING SPACE INTO THE OUTDOORS.
When transnational couple Satish Reddy (India) and Ping Yu (China) decided to relocate from California and Texas to Chapel Hill, NC, they dreamed of building their own custom-designed, net zero house to reduce their new home’s carbon footprint and environmental impact. To make this dream come true, they turned to Arielle Condoret Schechter, AIA, the award-winning, Chapel Hill-based architect whose residential design portfolio is defined by modern, net zero/net positive passive homes.
On Saturday, September 9, the recently completed Reddy-Yu Residence will be featured on the Fall 2023 Modapalooza Tour, the annual fall tour of modernist houses throughout the Triangle region organized by NCModernist, a North Carolina 501C3 nonprofit educational archive for the documentation, preservation, and promotion of Modernist houses from the mid-20th century to today.
THE REDDY-YU RESIDENCE, MAIN ENTRANCE, TWO-CAR GARAGE
Passive & Active Strategies: Like all of Schechter’s custom-designed net-zero houses, Reddy-Yu’s design is dependent upon various “passive” strategies, most notably a tight, leak-free building envelope, the barrier between indoors and outdoors encompassing the walls, windows, doors, and roof. Continuous high R-value insulation and triple-glazed, passive-house-suitable windows and exterior doors are vital elements of any net zero house, including this one.
The high-performance exterior walls are clad in gray fiber cement panels with wood accents providing warm visual and textural contrast.
A solar array on the butterfly roof and backup batteries in the garage supply the “active” technology needed to produce all the energy required to meet net zero status — to produce as much energy as the house uses.
Water conservation: Schechter also designed the house to collect rainwater for irrigating vegetable gardens the homeowners plan to install later this year.
Aromatic Kitchen Culture: “Satish and Ping are both gourmet cooks, so the kitchen is a room of great importance to them,” Schechter noted. “Their kitchen will produce multiple cuisines: Chinese, Indian, and more.”
Because the two often cook fragrant foods at very high temperatures, their architect needed to find a way to isolate the cooking aromas from the rest of the house. To that end, she made sure the kitchen could be completely closed off when necessary.
Passages: An abundance of windows and sliding glass doors provide a strong connectivity to the outdoors. On the northern elevation, a screened porch and deck structure, under the protection of a broad roof, extends the living space into the backyard.
Between the public spaces that Satish and Ping share with family and friends and the primary bedroom suite is a small “bridge” that provides a clear transition to their private “quiet zone.”
Arielle Schechter will be in the Reddy-Yu residence during the tour to speak with participants and answer any questions. For more information on the architect and her work, CLICK HERE
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According to George Smart, founder and CEO of NCModernist/USModernist, the 2023 Fall Modapalooza Tour is sold out. However, a waiting list is available by clicking HERE. For more information on the Tour, including photos of all seven houses included, CLICK HERE.
Go to ncmhcompetitions.org, scroll down a bit, and VOTE for this unique, modern, sustainable, custom-designed home in Carrboro, NC, where the land dictated the form and the family’s specific needs informed the plan. Thanks so much!
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.
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
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…”
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…
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.
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
Client News and Media Recognition 