Introduction by Andrée
When Ken and I
set out to create a new home for ourselves and the three boys, ages 8-11, in our blended family,
we wanted to create a sustainable living space using very little energy
and supplying much of our own food. We were astonished to find that
there are few “green” houses open to the public, and none in New
England. Most demonstrations are also expensive new construction, not
much help in rehabbing an old building on a moderate income.
When
we purchased an abandoned 100 year old former neighborhood store in the
Bourne area of Boston, Massachusetts last July (2008), we decided to
create the JP Green House - our home and an accessible model of zero
carbon, sustainable living.
We are bringing the former Jack's Store up to passivhaus standards, establishing an urban farm & apiary, and turning the old storefront into a community
space, energy education center and climate action resource.
We feel that the times urgently demand a new model of family and
community life. We think that we serve our kids best raising them in a
low carbon impact, local food, and neighborhood oriented home and by
teaching them practical skills for self-reliance. Guided by Thoreau we devote as much time and energy as we can to
climate activism.
Best, Andrée
link to Ken's introduction
The JP Green House
is a zero carbon* demonstration project, sustainable urban model and
hub for 350.org climate action founded by Andrée Zaleska and Ken Ward.
We are rehabbing an abandoned, 100 year old, former neighborhood store
located on the line between Jamaica Plain and Roslindale in Boston,
Massachusetts. Our aim is to achieve passivhaus standards, win
substantial independence from grid supplies of water and electricity,
and supply a large portion of our food on a modest income. We are
retrofitting the former "Jack's store" as space for workshops and
trainings, neighborhood events and gatherings like our JP Family
SongFest.
The JP Green House is located at 133 Bourne Street, Jamaica Plain. We welcome visitors & volunteers and have activities and events. You can contact us at:
• more about the project
• more about us
• our blog
Placetailor.
The
day after closing on the old abandoned store I went into the basement
and began ripping out partitions that had been tacked onto the original
walls. The plan was to renovate two rooms and a small bath in the
walk-out basement which Eli and I would move into within the month.
Therefore, I didn't really want to know why there was a strange bulge in the floor, which turned out to be a symptom of significant termite damage to the sill throughout the rear section of the building. The extent of the damage escaped our notice, despite home inspection and walk-throughs by several experienced folks, for the unusual reason that the damage was so extensive that it caused the building to drop evenly, leaving the interior looking plumb.
Neither
our timeline nor our budget
anticipated the need for rebuilding a foundation, but it has worked out
for the better. Because the magnitude of work, we
turned to the new design/build firm Placetailor. Declan Keefe, Kevin
Young and Simon Keefe introduced
us to the concept of passivhaus construction and have created a design
that is super-energy efficient, affordable and attractive.
