Paisano Green Community

Ambitious aspirations for public housing drove the design of this 73-unit, $14.8 million senior housing development completed in 2012. The Housing Authority of the City of El Paso’s (HACEP’s) goals, stated in its February 2010 design competition solicitation, were “to create a spectacular international-quality integrated housing development, showing the latest and highest quality sustainable design practices, and optimizing the environmental impact of our operations.” In addition to design excellence, achieving LEED Platinum and Enterprise Green Communities certifications was required (see Box 18.1 for a summary of project details). Three short-listed firms each received $25,000 to create a more detailed design proposal to present at an interview. WORKSHOP8, a group of design professionals from the Boulder, Colorado area who joined forces to enter the competition, was awarded the project in April 2010. (See Box 18.2 for a list of project team members.) Box 18.1: Project overview https://www.niso.org/standards/z39-96/ns/oasis-exchange/table">

IECC climate zone

3A

Latitude

31.77°N

Context

Urban

Size

55,357 ft² (5,143 m²)

49,195 ft² (4,570 m²) of enclosed living space

Building footprints are 17,100 ft² (1,588 m²) on a 4.2-acre (1,700 m²) site

73 units: 0, 1, and 2 bedrooms

Height

2 and 3 stories

Program

Senior housing and community building

Design HERS

37–46

HERS with PV

10

Air changes/hour at 50 Pa

2.9

Natural air changes/hour

0.12

Certifications

LEED for Homes Platinum; Enterprise Green Communities

Box 18.2: Project team https://www.niso.org/standards/z39-96/ns/oasis-exchange/table">

Owner

Housing Authority of the City of El Paso

Architect

WORKSHOP8

Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing Engineer

Priest Engineering

Energy Modeler and Sustainability Consultant

Sustainably Built

Lighting Designer

Clanton & Associates

Structural Engineer

Gebau

Civil Engineer

JVA

Soils Engineer

Raba-Kistner

Landscape Architect

Desert Elements Landscape Design LLC

Landscape Designer

indigo landscape design

LEED Consultant

Progress Building

Construction consultant to design team

Deneuve Construction Services

General Contractor

Pavilion Construction