Codding Cottage and carriage house win Aurora awards
Codding Cottage and its carriage house are located in the National Historic Neighborhood of Laurel Park in downtown Sarasota. Designed and built by Josh Wynne Construction for its owner, Phillip Carey, these two innovative "green" buildings have been heaped with ecology awards.
At 2,914 square feet, Codding Cottage scored 237 points out of a possible 300 from the Florida Green Building Coalition (FGBC), making it the first LEED platinum home in Florida. (LEED stands for Leadership for Energy and Environmental Design.) Codding Cottage is the second home in the entire United States to receive LEED Platinum v.1 Certification.
It is a green home without compromise, having recently earned several prestigious Aurora and Grand Aurora awards from the South East Builders Conference for being the Best Water-Wise Home, the Best Natural Gas Single Family Home, the Best Energy Efficient Home and the Best Green Construction in the Custom Home category.
Codding Cottage at 1859 Laurel St.
If Codding Cottage is emphatically green, its carriage house is even greener. With an astonishing score of 267 out of 300, it is the highest scoring home ever rated by the FGBC. At 413 square feet, this small but efficient studio has its own address and utilities. Among other Aurora awards, it was given the Grand Aurora Award for Green Construction in the Affordable Housing category.
The carriage house behind the main house.
These two buildings are not only practical, they are beautiful. Josh Wynne’s team included Dale Parks of Seibert Architects, Skip VerMilyea of Raindrops Cisterns, and Drew Smith of Two Trails, who served as certifying agent. Together they transformed owner Phillip Carey’s request for an energy efficient residence into an eco-conscious home with numerous innovative energy and water saving features – and they did so at reasonable cost. Remarkably, these handsome buildings were constructed in just seven months, and for less than $200 per square foot.
The living room fireplace is framed by reclaimed beams from the John Ringling Towers.
The architect blended old and new by taking inspiration from traditional architecture while giving both homes a modern flair.
Kurt Lucas of JKL Design Group also combined old and new when he put together the interiors. For example, the kitchen in the main house has recycled concrete countertops, a zinc-topped island and stainless steel appliances, yet features pantry doors made of ancient teak shutters from Indonesia.
Both homes are in keeping with Florida bungalows found in the Laurel Park neighborhood. Named after a staunch environmentalist, David Codding, these homes incorporate the latest innovations in technology and green construction while being traditional in appearance.
Rainwater is collected in cisterns and mainstreamed for use through 3-stage filtration systems, with a strict maintenance program assuring water quality and safety. Low-E insulated windows keep out the summer heat and the winter cold. These are but a few of the attributes of these modern high-tech homes, yet the cottage’s handsome study features reclaimed double doors from Egypt.
The kitchen.
A bit of local history has also been recycled in the Codding Cottage family room. Here the fireplace incorporates reclaimed beams from Sarasota’s grand old hotel, The John Ringling Towers, now demolished.
Besides living and dining areas, family room, study and master bedroom and bath, Codding Cottage has two guest bedrooms and baths. The tall, 2-story home also boasts an enormous attic-loft with balcony, providing a hideaway for suitcases, snow skis or grandchildren. The loft also has a spectacular view.
The Codding Cottage property has been certified by Energy Star, Florida Yard and Neighborhood Landscape and FPL BuildSmart. It has also been certified as a Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation.
In the words of Josh Wynne, "I built a house with the character and charm of a historic home and it happens to be one of the newest and greenest homes in America … I build green because it makes sense for my customers and for the environment. "
For more on the attributes of this property, go to www.joshwynneconstruction.com.
September 9th 2009 - 9:08PM