Sustainable Design Studio Shed

by Jeff Fletcher
(Austin, TX)

SDS Shed

The Sustainable Design Studio Shed is designed to utilize basic eco-friendly concepts and materials to create sustainable space. Rainwater collection, Green roof system, solar arrays and spatial orientation help produce a place that minimizes energy costs and treads less on the natural environment.

The green roof is irrigated with rainwater. Any excess runoff is collected with in the concrete bench on south side of shed for later use. The solar array system produces power for the shed. In addition, it doubles as a shade structure for the patio space beneath at the south side of the shed. A large array of glass doors and windows face the north in order to capture the shaded light. This provides the most consistent daylight though the day and minimizes daytime power usage.

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Sustainable Design Studio Shed

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i agree with shedbuilderUK
by: Anonymous

no more further comments. but, nice idea.. kind of over kill though

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Not quite green enough
by: ShedbuilderUK

Well I like the effort but there are a few things that struck me about this design.
1. Using a concrete storage vessel for the rainwater run off is not environmentally friendly, concrete uses massive amount of CO2 to make and it leaves an ugly mark on the landscape when finished with. Add this to the fact that unless waterproofed concrete is porous it's not a very good material.
2. The slope on the roof is too steep for a green roof, the rainwater needs to be retained on the surface as long as possible. My feeling is that the plants will dry out and die on this roof.
3. I don't see much point in the Solar cells even if the studio was being used all day, the energy that is used to make them will not be compensated by the small amount of energy a small studio like this will use in the day. In the evening these cells are useless.
There was a comment about south facing windows but the person that made this comment was incorrect, the reason explained for windows on the north side was to provide consistent shaded light through the day. I expect that if this is an art studio you would not want all sorts of bright sunlight and shadows interfering with your work, it also prevents the bleaching effect of the sun. BTW Austin Texas where he lives is still in the Northern hemisphere.

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Clean design with green credentials
by: GreenBoy

I have a soft spot for building of any type that utilise energy efficiency, collect rainwater and are generally environmentally neutral....

However, I am assuming this design is for a specific location (Southern state of the US?) as I can tell you for a fact in the UK you would (given the choice) put any substantial expanse of glass on any side other than the north. (unless cost is not an issue and you can use the latest energy efficient double glazing)

Sedum roofs - I know these are becoming popular, but I haven't seen any that have been installed for more than a few years - and I am starting to wonder on their true worth.

Apart from a few personal issues with the design, I have to say I like this - modern, clean and environmentally friendly... very nice.

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