The National Park Service has a growing problem: housing its employees affordably and sustainably in some of the country's most beautiful — and often remote — places. Conventional housing can be expensive, energy-hungry and hard on the environment.
So the Park Service developed housing prototypes built around sustainability, efficiency and livability, following Department of Energy energy-efficiency standards.
Prototype housing in the Dane Farm area of Acadia National Park. NPS
What makes them green
| Feature | How |
|---|---|
| Energy efficiency | high-performance building envelopes, the best orientation for each building, and efficient appliances |
| Water conservation | low-flow fixtures and drought-tolerant landscaping |
| Renewable energy | where possible, solar photovoltaics, with high-efficiency lighting |
The designs also aim to make life better for the people who live in them, with attention to natural light, shared community spaces and a connection to the landscape around them.
Prototype housing at Grand Teton National Park. NPS
In use
The prototypes are now in use at many parks. At Acadia and Grand Teton national parks, new units give about 50 seasonal employees a safe, comfortable and energy-efficient place to live — easing the shortage of affordable staff housing while protecting the parks' landscapes.
Sources
Based on "Building a Sustainable Future: Housing Prototypes for National Park Service Employees," part of the Park Service's STEM series, National Park Service; a work of the United States government in the public domain.
In these publicationsScience, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)
Licence: CC0 1.0 (public domain) · Adapted from www.nps.gov
1
0
0
0
Comments
