Happy Spring!

Still Hollow

Many clients are interested in creating an energy efficient home and as their project moves along and budget realities come into focus, sustainability tends to slip in priority level. For our Still Hollow clients it was the number one priority and stayed number one to the end. It was designed to be net-zero, a home that creates as much energy as it uses. Our aim was to create a home that was just large enough for them, with a tightly sealed envelope including triple pane windows, and then install just enough photovoltaic panels to generate the required power to supply all of their energy needs. As you can see energy efficiency can be quite beautiful! Kevin Murphy and Chris Kerscher of Newphire Building worked diligently to create this great home.

Our clients just moved in last week so I don't have hard data yet but you can visit it on the Green Home Tour the last weekend in April and the first weekend in May.

El Futuro

We are designing a new home for El Futuro, a dedicated group of clinicians who provide mental health services for the Hispanic community. They will be moving into the Lakewood Shopping Center near The Scrap Exchange. Construction is progressing well thanks to a great design by Megan and an effective partnership with Incline Construction and Self-Help Credit Union. Completion and move-in is scheduled for the end of May. Final images in the next newsletter.

FYI There are other adjacent spaces, both large and small, that would be great for your business. If you are interested please be in touch with The Scrap Exchange.

The Patterson Studio

Here are some additional wonderful images from the Patterson Studio that we showcased in the last newsletter. We are getting such wonderful attention from this project.

The Durham Food Hall

We are so happy to be moving ahead on the design of the Durham Food Hall. Meredith is taking the design lead on these 10 food concepts under a single roof a stone's throw from our office. Lunch just got a lot easier!

Here's the clean slate 'before' image. More exciting images soon.

The Golden Leaf Awards

We have three projects in the running this year for the prestigious Golden Leaf Awards!

GRUB

the Meintjes/Berliner studio

and the Piedmont Prairie Classroom at Duke Gardens.

Duke Gardens just completed their annual controlled burn of the prairie last week under the watchful eyes of the NC Forest Service and the Duke Gardens staff. All went well and the classroom is still standing! This is an essential tool for helping the eco-system regenerate. It's so cool to learn interesting things from our clients. Watch the burn here.

Please come to the Golden Leaf Awards sponsored by the Durham Appearance Commission. The festivities will be held on Thursday, April 19th at the Old Durham County Courthouse, 200 East Main Street in Downtown. The reception will start at 5:30 and the awards will follow at 6:15. We love the way Durham promotes good design and placemaking.

NCSU Summer Design Build Studio #8

This summer we will be starting our 8th NCSU design/build project and this year we will be back in Durham working with the good folks at Durham Parks and Recreation and the Parks Foundation to create an environmental education and nature station at West Point on the Eno.

If you know a not-for-profit group in the triangle area, with roughly $25-$30K to invest in a small built structure to help the community, we are always looking for good candidates for future summer studio design/build projects. They can connect with me at ellen@ellencassillyarchitect.com. 2019 is right around the corner.

Rosa McDonald

Speaking of mentoring, we have been so happy to have Rosa McDonald work with us as our intern this year. We knew that she was a super star and now other folks have discovered that as well. She just won the Gensler Diversity Scholarship summer internship award. Bravo Rosa.

Wishing you all a wonderful spring,

Ellen, Meredith, Megan, Esther, Rosa and Niña