The Solar Garden Patio incorporates elements of energy, water, and land, creating an environmental bridge between what is and what could be.

The Solar Garden Patio provides the Millvale Ecodistrict with an outdoor space focused on reuse, well-being, and beautification. It extends the infrastructure of the solar panel and rainwater cistern systems to create healthy community infrastructure and a self-awareness of the environment in which it occupies.  The project serves as a living building demonstration, enhancing resilience by harnessing resources and circulating them for greater self-sufficiency.

Our vision with this project is not limited to these goals. We hope that it will inspire and provide insight, enabling people to think further about the challenges of today not just as obstacles but as creative opportunities that can be answered to.

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Living Building Features

Water

Rain causes streams to rise, cascading down waterfalls into larger bodies of water and plant ecosystems that help prevent flooding.

When storms hit flood-prone places like Millvale, water from the Hub’s rooftop is collected in a 1000 gallon cistern under the patio. This confluences with water from the solar canopy feeding the water garden and native plant irrigation system, and slowing its release into the Girty’s Run and Allegheny River Watersheds.

Energy

Sitting under a tree canopy, leaves sprouting from branches provide protective shade while steadily producing energy that also cleans the air we breathe.

The 8.9 kWh custom Lumos solar panel system produces renewable energy from the sun, reducing energy costs and contributing clean power to the public grid. Being under this solar canopy can feel up to 15 F degrees cooler making it safer to be outdoors and mitigating the urban heat island effect.

Land

Above ground, we see the beauty of plants who attract birds, butterflies and bees – just below the surface resources are circulated to support new life.

You are standing on 100+ year old wood reclaimed from Springdale Elementary School by Construction Junction, keeping waste out of landfill. Surrounding the patio are several interconnected native plant gardens, absorbing water to mitigate flooding, and create pollinator habitats in our ‘Bee City’.

Project Contractors

  • General Contractor: New Sun Rising
  • Architect: evolveEA
  • Engineering: Gateway Engineers, Ethos Collaborative
  • Project Management, Carpentry, + Planting: Octopus Organic Gardening
  • Solar: Energy Independent Solutions (EIS)
  • Steel: Greco Steel
  • Reuse Decking: Construction Junction
  • Plumbing: RD Eikey Plumbing
  • Roof, Siding, Painting: Relief Renovations
  • Concrete: C&R Concrete & Construction

 

The Solar Garden Patio at the Millvale Food + Energy Hub was made possible by the generous financial support of: US Department of Housing and Urban Development, Henry L. Hillman Foundation, New Sun Rising, and Moose MODE Inc.