HBA of Colorado Springs Announces Parade Winners!

From left to right, Chris Cherabie and Heather Murphy from Godden|Sudik, Rhett Osko and Kim Sandoval from Classic Homes, Christy Cassidy from Cassidy Design, and Alex Jewett from Godden|Sudik.

The Housing & Building Association of Colorado Springs announced the People's Choice and Industry Awards of Excellence for the 2016 Parade of Homes last week at their annual awards banquet. Industry professionals from around the state judged the homes on a number of features including floor plan,  architectural exterior, and interior decorating. The People's Choice Awards are voted on by Parade of Home attendees. Both awards are broken out into multiple categories divided by price point. The Industry Awards are then broken out further among the following eight categories: Best Kitchen, Best Master Suite, Best Interior Design, Best Landscape Design, Best Architectural Exterior, Best Craftsmanship, and Best Overall Home. Together with Classic Homes and Cassidy Design Godden|Sudik is proud to have taken home the following awards for The San Isable Duplex in the $475,000-$550,000 price range:

• Best Kitchen
• Best Master Suite
• Best Interior Design
• Best Floor Plan
• Best Architectural Exterior
• Best Craftmanship
• Best Overall Home

The beautiful front elevation of the home.

An open concept floor plan allows spaces to seamless flow from one to the next.

The generous master suite is the perfect place to relax.

For more information about theses wonderful duplexes check out Classic Homes by clicking here.

$475,000 - $550,000
Vanguard Homes - Ramsgate                       

• Best Landscaping

 Classic Homes – The San Isabel                    

• Best Kitchen, Best Master Suite, Best Interior Design, Best Floor Plan, Best Architectural Exterior, Best Craftsmanship, Best Overall Home

- See more at: http://www.cshba.com/parade-of-homes.html#sthash.Waeaktsh.dpuf

The Housing & Building Association of Colorado Springs has announced the winners of the People’s Choice Awards and the Industry Awards of Excellence for the 2016 Parade of Homes. 

Godden|Sudik Hits "100K Saves" on Houzz

The Houzz community has saved Godden|Sudik photos to their ideabooks over 100,000 times! We are honored and humbled to join the "100K Saves" Club! Click here to check out our Houzz profile and see some of our favorite projects! (you must have a Houzz account for access)

New Website! Check it Out!

Godden|Sudik Architects is thrilled to announce the launch of our brand new website! See new project photos, our growing team, our process, our awards, and our very helpful resources page! Click here to check it out!

More Affordable Houses to be Added in Stapleton!

Housing attainability in Denver has been a huge topic of discussion lately and we were excited to see this great project. Rather than relying primarily on value engineering and product right sizing which we are all very versed at, it's encouraging to see creative and collaborative solutions like Forest City and thrive's Elements Collection at Stapleton.

In 2000, Forest City agreed to dedicate one-tenth of the homes sold in the master planned community to affordable units. To date just over 300  homes (less than 5% of the total) have been built that meet this criteria. So how can they possibly meet their goal with Denver's crazy housing market over the next five years? To start, Forest City Stapleton, thrive Home Builders, and the city of Denver are teaming up to build 165 townhomes all priced under $200,000.  Forest City is giving thrive the land, a hug money saver, and thrive it using it's 13 years of building experience in Stapleton to cut building costs in every way they can. The Elements Collection will be the largest affordable development in Stapleton and will certainly help Forest City to hit its goal. 



To find out more about thrive's Elements collection click here.

How to Make Your Home More Green

In honor of Earth Day, we thought we would share a few simple ideas we can all do to make our homes greener. Experts say that simple changes in your everyday life are all it takes to make your home better for the environment.

Here are a few ideas worth trying:

• Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs: These bulbs - now available to fit many light fixtures - use just a quarter of the electricity of regular incandescent bulbs. Plus, they last up to 10 times longer.
• Turn off the lights: If you or others in your household are forgetful, install movement sensors so lights only activate when needed. Another way to save energy is to install automatic timers for lights frequently left blazing in empty rooms.
• Set cooling and heating temperatures correctly: Your refrigerator and freezer are probably the biggest electrical energy consumers in your house. Take steps to make sure they're not working harder than necessary. Fridges do their job at around 37 F. Freezers set at -3 F keep things nice and frosty. Be sure to close the fridge and freezer doors. Leaving them open for just a few extra seconds wastes a lot of energy. Get an electronic thermostat so your furnace heats your home to a lower temperature while the family sleeps and returns it to a toastier temperature before you get out of bed. In the winter, set your thermostat at 68 F in the day and 55 F at night. In the summer, keep it at 78 F. Water heaters work most efficiently between 120 and 140 F.
• Get unplugged: Electronic appliances, including TVs, computers, and CD players can consume almost as much energy when in standby mode as they do during the relatively small amount of time they're being used.
• Use appliances efficiently: Wait for a full load before turning on the washing machine, dryer, or dishwasher. Clear the lint filter after every dryer load and air-dry clothes when weather allows. Use the air-dry function on your dishwasher. Preheat your oven only when necessary.
• Let the sun shine: The cheapest and most environmentally sound heat and light source is just outside your window. Open blinds, drapes, and shutters to let solar energy warm and brighten your home naturally.
• Stop leaks: Plug, insulate, replace, repair, caulk, or seal to make your home as leak-proof as possible - and watch your utility bills drop.

These ideas are from 25 Way to Create a Green and Healthy Home, for the full list click here.

April is Colorado Architecture Month!

Every April The American Institute of Architects Colorado Chapter celebrates Colorado Architecture Month. They, together with support from other organizations, produce a series of public events throughout the state which highlight the importance of architecture in our every day lives and encourages the community to see why design matters. To check out upcoming events click here.

Denver Joins Several Cities Requiring Electrical Vehical Readiness For New Homes

After an 18-month process, Denver City Council approved Denver's new building code 12-0 on Monday. Under the new code, new buildings are expected to be 25% more energy efficient while loosening the reins on renovations and repairs on the existing building stock hopefully expanding preservation. Denver specific codes now require garages on single family and duplex dwellings to have the proper electrical wiring to support electrical vehicle plugs. This will make it easier and cheaper for more residence  to charge electrical vehicles at home. Homebuilders opposed the electric vehicle readiness requirement voicing concerns about the growing cost of construction, but the new code passed unanimously anyway. The new building code will take full effect in six months. How will these updates directly affect us? Here are a few examples:


This change took place in the 2012 IRC and is carried into the 2015 IRC, but will affect cities that are going from the 2009 IRC

·         R806.2 - Minimum area of roof ventilation: the code changed the required ventilation minimum and maximum of upper roof vents compared to lower roof vents.  The 2009 IRC allowed between 50% and 80% of ventilation to be on the upper roof.  The 2012 & 2015 IRC changed this to a much lower range between 40% and 50% of ventilation to be on the upper roof.

How this affects our work:  This may not directly affect how we design our roofs but will significantly change how we show our upper and lower vents on our roof plans.  Because the IRC went from allowing a minimum of 20% (2009) ventilation in the lower portion of the roofs to a minimum of 50% (2012, 2015), if we don't have enough soffits to put the ventilation (houses with a lot gable roofs), we are forced to show, and builders are forced to install, cut-in vents at the soffits or install a low profile o-hagin vent that is significantly larger than the upper roof vents mathat are being installed, thus affecting the way a house looks.

               

This change took place in the 2015 IRC 
 R302.13: Fire protection for floors: the code changed so a 1/2" gypsum wallboard membrane, 5/8" wood structural panel membrane or equivalent must be installed to the underside of floor framing member. There is an exception that says that floor assemblies located directly over a space protected by an automatic sprinkler system don't need to conform to this section.
How this affects our work: The only thing that we need to consider is making sure how plan notes state this.  This will affect our builders more in that they will have to absorb the cost to install this material in their unfinished basements or sprinkler the floor.

  

This change took place in the 2015 IRC

·         R305.1: Minimum ceiling height:  Bathrooms, toilet rooms and laundry rooms shall have a ceiling height of not less than 6 feet 8 inches. (Previous codes, 2009 and 2012 called out a minimum required of 7 feet)

How this affects our work: We now have to show our bathrooms and laundry rooms at 6 feet 8 inches.  If our builders decide to go down to 6 feet 8 inches, it will affect our door sizes as well and make the space feel smaller overall.  This will affect how we design these already tight spaces.