The New Hawaiian Home is designed to actively support an environmentally responsible, modern-family lifestyle. Construction of this new home commenced Feb. 1, and with the cooperation and voluntary support of more than 80 contractors and vendors, the home is scheduled to be completed before the end of this month. In the coming weeks, I will be sharing insights into the building of this revolutionary prototype home — starting with the first of the six green building elements: lot design.

The homeowners hired Reuse Hawaii to hand-demolish the existing property, but to salvage as much of the 50-year-old single-walled Redwood T&G home as possible. All Island Fence Rental LLC then provided the dust fence for the perimeter of the property for dust control, while Alan Shintani Inc. and Ron’s Construction Corp. graded, filled and compacted the materials to provide a solid foundation for the slab. Site resource efficiency was implemented by retaining and reusing the excavation material for backfill, and Pineridge Farms Inc. provided the recycled base course material to prepare a solid base for the footings and slab. A soils test for compaction strength was conducted to ensure it met the standards for stability under the slab. The photos accompanying this article illustrate key steps of lot preparation, and in next week’s article, readers will learn more about the key steps involved in lot design.

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Lot design refers to the orientation of the home on the lot, where workers maximize natural ventilation, day lighting and lot preparation by re-using excavated material and creating the least amount of dust and water runoff.

Kudos go out to several industry leaders who helped make this project a success. Michael Brant, the vice president of Gentry Homes, has chaired the project and kept the project team volunteers on track and focused. Rhonda Goyke, vice president of Green Sand Inc., LEED AP and CGP Certified Green Professional, has educated the team and monitored the job site for compliance, processes and application to implement green certification. Douglas Pearson, vice president of Castle and Cooke Homes, has led the construction team as project manager, while James Keller, president of Armstrong Builders, has coordinated with contractors so they keep green standards at every level.

We invite you to our open house to learn, see and feel the difference of this new standard of home building on three Sundays — June 12, July 10 and July 17 — from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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Karen Nakamura is executive vice president / CEO of Building Industry Association of Hawaii.

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