Talon Court Project Integrates Sustainable Materials Throughout and Receives LEED Platinum
In Wilmington, NC, Talon Court has become the greenest remodel in the nation by earning LEED Platinum with 113.5 points. To achieve this, every detail of the home, from water and energy conservation, to interior finishes, was carefully considered.
When CaraGreen visited the home, the indoor air quality was obvious and we admired how every surface told a story. Floors are rapidly renewable bamboo strand. Doors are crafted from strips of reclaimed scrap wood. Countertops are locally made concrete. Feature walls are adorned with Kirei board. Torzo Seeta is used for a bar and built-ins. And, the list goes on. Sapona Green Building Center in Wilmington, NC, a retail partner of CaraGreen, provided the majority of the interior materials for the project.
The owner and mastermind behind the project, architect Jay DeChesere, also tells a great story about the home on his website. The residence was the home of his parents, Jean and John DeChesere, from 1986 until recently, when they moved to an independent living facility (they're 95 and 98 yrs old respectively). With the housing market having turned down, they were unable to sell their home. So, Jay, and his wife, Heather Smith, decided to buy the home to relieve them of the stress of selling it.
As an architect focusing on Green Design, and being on the Board of Directors of the Cape Fear Green Building Alliance, Jay envisioned a complete renovation of this home under the USGBC’s LEED for Homes rating system. This is the first project of this category (a gut-rehab) under LEED for Homes in NC and the second in the Southeast region. Jay assembled a design team and an advisory team to lend their expertise to the project. A few of the renovation highlights are the solar panel hot water system, green roof installation, water harvesting tank, geothermal air handling unit, and sustainable materials integrated into the interior design.
