Renew America Success Stories

Cunningham-Pinon House

Description

The Cunningham-Pinon House is a 1,250-square-foot single-family home in northeast Portland, Oregon, built to maximize energy and water efficiency and to minimize impact on the environment. Built on an urban infill lot, it boasts a passive solar design, innovative active solar heating, incorporation of recycled building materials and seamless architectural integration into an existing neighborhood.

Several years ago, John Cunningham and Mary Beth Pinon were looking to move out of their apartment and buy a home in downtown Portland, which would enable them to maintain a residence close to their jobs, continue to use public transportation to commute, ride their bikes and walk to run errands. Owning a home that would be as efficient as possible was important to John and Mary Beth so they contacted Gregory Acker, a local environmental architect, to design their own environmentally-friendly home from scratch.

Their decision to build in urban Portland paid off financially. The city maintains an Urban Growth Boundary to constrain suburban sprawl and is working hard to revitalize its urban core. Because Mary Beth and John chose to engage in urban infill development, the County will not charge property tax for the first ten years after construction. By keeping the house small and choosing construction materials wisely, construction costs were kept down, as well. Including the $6,000 lot, total cost for the home was $111,000.

In keeping with the goal of building the most environmentally-friendly home possible, the structure was designed not only to save water and energy, but to reduce pollution through the incorporation of environmentally-benign materials such as natural linoleum and the use of nontoxic glues.

"This house connects us rather than isolates us from the environment," says John Cunningham. "In my own small way, I would like to limit my impact on the natural environment."

Program Highlights

Energy

• Uses an innovative, low-cost radiant heating system that circulates hot water through the concrete floor slab. Because this system heats an object instead of the air, occupants are comfortable at lower ambient air temperatures.
• Water is heated using a solar heater on the roof.
• The house is oriented so south-facing windows receive maximum solar exposure.
• The clothes washer has its own heater, enabling the main water heater to be permanently set at a lower temperature.

• Plumbing for a graywater system for the vegetable garden has been installed in anticipation of the city approving the use of such systems.

• Carpets are made of 100% recycled plastic soda bottles.
• The kitchen and bathroom cabinets are formaldehyde-free particle board with a low-toxic finish.
• Floors in the bathrooms and utility room are natural linoleum made from cork and linseed oil to avoid out-gassing of vinyl.

• The house contains a worm bin for garbage disposal.
• The house is centrally located, with numerous services located only two or three blocks away, including a public park, shopping and public transportation.

Vital Statistics

• Program Management/Partnerships: The Cunningham-Pinon house is a cooperative effort among Gregory Acker, the architect; Jason Angelus, the builder; and John Cunningham and Mary Beth Pinon, the owners.
  
  
• Budget: $111,000 ($105,000 for the house and $6,000 for the lot).
  
  
• Community Served: Potential homeowners interested in purchasing low-cost, energy-efficient housing.
  
  
• Measures of Success:

• More than 450 people have toured the home since construction was completed in November 1994.

 

 Published: May 1997

Success stories designed by Mark W. Nowak

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