Ten nearly weathertight units and the four solar parking canopies are almost complete and will be generating energy soon. On their best days, they will have the capacity to generate 136,800 watts per hour.
Read MoreThe way in which our crew is constructing whole wall panels inclusive to insulation and electrical components and then tilted up is a technique utterly unique to the Hillside Center for Sustainable Living; as far as we know, it is not being done anywhere else, which adds to the excitement when we make large strides towards completion like we have in the last couple of weeks!
Read MoreThe YWCA at Hillside is composed of 10 single-room units. Two units will be available to those interested earning less than 50% AMI (Area Median Income) and the rest for those earning less than 30% AMI. The coolest part about this component of the Hillside Community is that, along with being affordable, this housing will abide by the same sustainable, energy-efficient standards as the rest of our housing!
Read MoreHillside's community-supported agriculture (CSA) vision is for on-site food cultivation to be available to residents through a shared CSA model.
Read MoreWe are designing every element of Hillside with permaculture principles in mind as a way to diversify crops, increase soil health, and have an edible landscape while reducing the amount of labor needed in the long term.
Read MoreAlong with electric vehicles and water-saving toilets, a sound composting program has always been high on Hillside's site needs. Many things being implemented at Hillside are cutting-edge green technologies that often have to be justified in our accounting department. Composting is not one of them - it just makes sense.
Read MoreHillside, we love our bikes too and want to design the site to accommodate the grab and go bike mentality. The tough thing is that bikes take up A LOT of space and are not the most nimble things to move around alone.
Read MoreThis North End Terrace portion of the site has one of the steepest grade changes and was challenging for us to conceptualize not being an eye-soar.
Read MoreCarbonCure is a CO2 injection system that infuses frozen waste CO2 into the wet concrete before it is cast in place on a construction site or a precast manufacturing facility. Much of our world is made up of concrete, and this technology is a wonderful innovation to reduce it’s environmental impact.
Read MoreMars? Close, this is Newbury Boston Blue Marline clay that is present throughout the Hillside site. Formed by the glaciers during the ice age this clay's color is quite spectacular and will be tested for its firing qualities by a local potter!
Read MoreWe substituted shovels and ribbon cutting with garden trowels and local, organic tomato, kale, broccoli, and Swiss chard seedlings at the Hillside groundbreaking ceremony. We featured David Hall’s spoken words from the Hillside Center for Sustainable Living groundbreaking on May 18, 2018.
Read MoreHave you heard of a SIP? As lovers of all things that are acronyms, SIPs joined our diction quite seamlessly. A SIP is a Structural Insulated Panel - quite similar to our Hillside wall system that encompasses all structural wall elements into one. We are excited to partner with MGO Systems based out of Canada to manufacture our Barn SIPs.
Read MoreOur first flip was a success! Starting with the EPS foam template, the exterior siding is applied, flipped, the structural wall is poured, and the interior wall is later finished with a pigmented plaster to create a 20in thick, R60 wall. The architects, engineers and the building department will review and inspect these mockups.
Read MoreIf you can believe it, foam has been one of the most focused on details in the Hillside design office. Being mostly air, foam is a superb insulator. Heating and cooling are responsible for roughly 44% of all home energy usage, so having the best possible insulation can make a huge difference in energy savings. Over the years of Hillside design work, the options of insulation materials moved from creative things like recycled blue jeans and sheep wool to EPS foam for one reason.
Read MoreCottage Court's first foundation pour! Look closely and you can see the "T" shape house!
Read MoreAll Cottage Court sidewalks will meet ADA standards (less than 5% grade change).
Read MoreJust like most things, the more challenging the problem, the more creative the solution. Well, this is certainly true for the Hillside Ave units. The big onsite challenge is grade change. Our solution, not only solved the problem but came with a whole range of benefits.
Read MoreSuppose you have ever noticed the pond at March's Hill or Federal and Water St intersection after a significant rain event. In that case, as we have in the Hillside offices, you may have thought to yourself, "Wow, that water is coming fast, and this space just can't handle it." With the ever-increasing frequency of these rain events in the future, we are working deliberately to design a system that will be able to withstand the influx of rain with ease.
Read MoreThere are a variety of materials that we use during the construction of Hillside that are re-used from local sources. The most evident materials onsite are granite and concrete from the 95 bridge just a few miles away. From retaining walls to roadbase and drainage material, these rocks are certainly living a new life! But just how is it done?
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We had a visit from the YWCA Affordable Housing Committee! The YWCA will be managing the affordable housing portion of the project. Our plans include a 10 room SRO (single room occupancy) home located on the Southwest corner of the site.
