ARQ

Renewable Energy: Keen Avenue

While we incorporate energy efficiency, healthy building materials and restorative site strategies in all our projects, we also look for opportunities to integrate renewable and alternative energy systems to help reduce or eliminate fossil fuel-based energy sources.

One of the owners of the Keen Avenue residence is an artist who wanted abundant northern daylight in her studio space, so we incorporated north facing clerestory windows in the project to bring additional natural light to the interiors. Those clerestory windows also provided excellent orientation and surfaces for solar thermal arrays, angled to optimize capture of solar energy during the winter months. In addition to the thermal array for space heating, we integrated large thermal storage tanks to mitigate diurnal and seasonal shifts in energy availability to buffer against long periods of cold or reduced sunlight.

ARQ partners and principals have also invested personally in alternative and renewable energy systems. Partners Paul and Lucy have installed a solar thermal system at the building that houses Studio Verte and the Black Birch and added a photovoltaic energy and back-up power system to their home. The new ARQ Baltimore office includes a photovoltaic and battery back-up system as part of a deep energy retrofit of the existing row house building.

We have used a range of similar strategies on other projects including:

• Riverview Net Neutral Home: photovoltaic system to achieve net neutrality

• ASPCA Renovation and Addition: solar thermal array for domestic water heating

• Tompkins County SPCA: geothermal system for space heating