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Kitchen of the Intracoastal Waterway House.

Gardner and Williams teach at the University of Maryland house are dry. That’s because of a “gravel-free prefabricated
School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation. They are French drain” system below the surface around the house. (The
especially known for being faculty leaders of two of the school’s colloquial name for these drains is “worms,” and they consist of
Solar Decathlon houses, finishing in second place for the US in the styrofoam peanuts in panty hose, both recycled post-consumer
2007 competition and first place in 2011. Their practice is sustain- products.) The stormwater goes to catchment basins by the canal,
ability-centric, and this house is no exception. Solar power, in the which are planted with native marsh species. This attracts a much
visible form of photovoltaic panels, didn’t work in this case due to broader range of animals than the neighbors’ suburban-style
shading of large trees. Most of the sustainable elements here are lawns: most visibly birds, and most audibly frogs and crickets.
invisible workhorses: a geothermal heat pump system and “ERV” (Deer are also attracted, of course, but most native plant species,
(energy recovery ventilator, which pulls heat or cooling from once mature, are fairly deer-resistant, although they must be
exhaust air and puts it back into supply air); or passive elements protected when young. In contrast, most non-native species
such as a highly insulated thermal envelope (walls, roofs, windows, remain vulnerable throughout their lives.)
doors, etc.) and low-wattage LED lighting. The “barn door”-style The neighborhood has a homeowners’ association with design
shutters at the bunkhouse wing and the roller shades between the review powers and which has produced a lengthy set of design
pergola posts are more visible manifestations. Inside, the operable restrictions. This worried the architects: Williams “practically
skylights above the stair tower may seem to be merely nice memorized” the entire thing. But the design was quickly
architectural elements, but when opened, they exhaust hot air approved—even the HOA, it seems, was happy to collaborate.
without fans or other mechanical devices. An idealized process helped produce an ideal house.
The site is also part of the sustainability program, promoting
both biodiversity and stormwater management. Prior to the work,
water pooled on the site; now the front yard and area around the

26 NOT ROUGHING IT