PART 6

At Home With Green Living
Alice and Alec Black talk about the home they had designed by a green architect.

The Blacks had been dreaming of becoming homeowners for nearly a decade when they decided to start building a house of their own. They had two young children, so they had been thinking a lot about the sort of world that their children would be growing up in. 37. . For this reason, they were particularly interested in building a ‘green’ house.
First, they had to find an architect. The local architects only had experience with more traditional projects. 38. . Their search led them to an architect called John Mason, who lived about sixty kilometres away. He specialises in environmentally sustainable buildings, so they arranged a meeting with him.
Mr Mason was full of ideas, though first of all he wanted to hear what the Blacks’ basic requirements were. Luckily, the owners of some houses that Mr Mason had designed were happy to show the Blacks round their homes. This gave them even more ideas. The next step was for the Blacks to show Mr Mason their plot of land. It had been given to them by Alice’s grandmother. The architect was pleased with the plot, commenting that its size and position would make his job easier. 39. . One aim is to make the house as energy efficient as possible. Water conservation is another significant consideration. Collecting rainwater that can be used later, and controlling run-off water is a good way to reduce flooding.
The energy efficiency of a house is determined by where it is situated, what it is made of, how much natural light can be exploited and where its electricity comes from. Doors and windows need to be in places where sunlight can be used, but without making the house too hot or cold. 40. . Large eaves (the parts of the roof that stick out over the walls) can help rooms get enough sunlight without getting too hot in summer.
41. . The rest of the house was covered with solar panels so that the Blacks would have cheap electricity. Solar energy also heated the water for the heating system, which consisted of hot water pipes under the floors.
Mr Mason is keen to use recycled materials as much as possible. There was an old barn on the Blacks’ land which was perfect for this. Although it was in bad condition, the actual stone and wood it had been built with wasof very good quality. 42. . First of all, it wasn’t necessary to buy as much building material or to pay to have it transported to the building site. As a result, it reduced the overall cost of the project. The Blacks were excited when building actually started, and were even more thrilled when their new home was ready for them to move in.

A. He explained that, when building an environmentally-friendly house, you have to meet several goals.

B. Using these materials to build much of the new house had several benefits.

C. When it came to the Blacks’ house, they decided to have a small roof garden covering one part of the building.

D. Unfortunately, recycled materials are generally quite expensive.

E. Of course, the state of the environment was an important part of this.

F. Another good form of temperature control is to have some soil with grass and certain other plants on the roof.

G. Therefore, the Blacks went online to find out more.