As architects we very much enjoyed working with Hammond & Company on a new LEED Platinum residence with several accessory structures. In accordance with the client’s goals, this project aimed at being deep green, while maintaining a character of a country home. Bruce Hammond and his team were the perfect fit, rooted in quality construction, but also steeped in the methods and technologies of green building.
Our building design pushed the envelope along a broad spectrum of material and systems, most of which we had used previously, but some were unique innovations that required a contractor willing and capable to make a leap. Ordinarily, our passive solar designs focus on fewer alternative systems to limit the complexity, but given the experience that Hammond & Company brought to the table, the whole gamut could be realized, such as strawbale walls, foam glass sub slab insulation around seasonal heat storage sand beds, geo-exchange heat pumps, hydronic floors, solar thermal and photovoltaic systems, gray water and rain water harvesting, living roofs, low CO2 concrete and plaster formulations, to name a few.
The design set a very high bar for craftsmanship, including a compound curve roof shape with exposed framing members over the entrance hall, which could not have been built without someone like project manager, Steven Eichbaum at the job site. Little was left to chance when it came to meeting the client’s high expectations for fit and finish, including extensive mock-ups and sample reviews. Sourcing of green materials is second nature for Hammond & Co, whether FSC certified framing lumber, salvaged trim or recycled content finishes. Broc Croll accompanied this process as the second project manager and estimator, keeping his eyes on budget and schedules.
The project delivery as "phased construction" with several design-built components meant that Hammond & Co had to coordinate many sub-contractors and play an active role in working out details and integrating supplemental architectural drawings, as well as input from Kathleen Navarra, the interior designer. Bruce also closely collaborated with the living roof company, Symbios and the landscape design-built firm, Sentient Landscape, who played an important role in the site rehabilitation and farming aspect. As the architects, having taken this project from early master planning and site design, through the building designs, permits and working drawings, we can fully appreciate the monumental task of realizing a project with this level of complexity.
Throughout the construction, it was a great pleasure to work with Bruce, Steven, Broc and all the other good folks at Hammond & Co, who always kept a friendly and calm spirit, and focused on the green building goals that we all set out to achieve.
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