A community consisting of 40 eco-friendly homes in the middle of Texas . It is not difficult to imagine that starting, and mainly keeping a project like this required a lot of perseverance and skill of its creators : Chris Krager , an architect of 43 years who owns a company called KRDB , and Russell M. Becker , a civil engineer for 47 years , owner of Beck – Reit & Sons.
They were given the challenge to build homes that not only use organic materials but also to produce all the energy required to supply them . The dwellings of housing called SOL stands for Solutions Oriented Living , have roofs designed to store rainwater in barrels , solar panels and geothermal wells , which use energy from the heat of the earth , and have been designed to provide the less affluent inhabitants.
Part of the initial objectives were met but the foreclosure crisis that hit the United States in 2008 made it impossible for 40 wells to be drilled (one for each house) , the funding provided for the project was not approved and he could not be completed as he had been thought . Even so, the community houses use 55 % less energy than a common address . Before putting everything to work, Chris and Russell spent six months researching prices thermally efficient windows , foam insulation and heat pumps for heating structures.
Large windows are responsible for maximizing the entry of natural light , high heat gain keeping the houses. All of them are built with ” green ” materials , including paints that do not contribute to air pollution and cabinets that do not emit formaldehyde. Although not large – they have between 90 and 160 m² – have a kitchen , two bedrooms and a bathroom, plus a green space where residents put picnic tables and hammocks .
