House tour of Eco "green" Coconut Grove house

Randall Moreland, of Moreland Artchitecture + Sustainable Design in Miami, is holding a series of educational open houses for the community about what could be the first LEED Platinum single family home in the City of Miami called MoT. It possibly uses net zero electricity according to Randall.  "This is the first house that I have worked on with the potential to reach net zero electricity, but hopefully not my last," he says.

The home is located not far from Aviation Avenue in North Grove, and his family and he will move in once it is complete. Contractor is Mark Gemignani of Dominion Builders and various engineers and vendors have contributed their products and expertise. "Originally projected to take one year to build, it has now taken nearly two years. The delays can be attributed mostly to our decision to deviate from the standard location construction of CMU walls and wood truss roofs. We wanted to do something stronger and safer," says Randall. They hope to move in by the end of October.

The exterior structure is all poured concrete – 4” thick for walls, 6” thick for roofs. The finish of the walls is Thermocromex, which is an integral color limestone based version of stucco. The roof finish is standing seam metal. All of the floors are colored and exposed concrete. Bathrooms walls are finished with porcelain and glass tiles with recycled content when available. Kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities are rapidly renewable bamboo. Paints are all low or no VOC and the closest systems are low or no formaldehyde so we can expect very healthy indoor air quality.



"There are a number of us involved with groups like the AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) and USGBC who are working hard to get quality information about sustainable building in front of local homeowners and builders in order to encourage and increase interest. I am also a real estate agent based in Coconut Grove and working with the Miami Association of Realtors to get listings and appraisals to reflect the added monetary value of sustainable houses with eco-friendly features. I try to implement these elements in all of the work I do, whether it be renovations or new construction, and the extent to which I am successful in incorporating sustainable elements is largely in the hands of the owner. I expect that with more knowledge and exposure there will come greater owner demand as well," said Randall.

He would love to speak with anyone interested in either renovating or designing from scratch. There are certain minimum scope criteria for renovating existing homes to obtain LEED Platinum Certification, but he believes the goal should be to conceive of the project in the most resource efficient and healthy manner possible, and then consider how any certifications may align with those priorities.

The house tours will be informal but very informative, touching on everything from selecting the location to building orientation to permitting and construction lessons learned to research and selection of fixtures and finishes. 

Some of the featured items include: rainwater collection, solar panels, Energy Star appliances, natural ventilation and recycled materials, just to name a few.

There are four dates to choose from for the tours: Sunday, September 14 from 11 to 3 pm; Wednesday, September 17 from noon to 3 pm (this is a Broker's Open tour only); Thursday, September 189 from 6 to 8:30 pm and Saturday, September 20, from 11 am to 3 pm.

To make a reservation, there is no charge, please visit the website: morelandarch.com