Campbell Collective
2022 USGBC-LA Sustainable Innovation Awards
Honor for Water
Project of the Year
The Campbell Collective project is a single-family house built in 1947 in Los Angeles. Upon purchase eight years ago, the soil was barren and degraded.The owner applied permaculture design techniques, created a closed-loop water system, and implemented design features to regenerate the property and achieve a net-positive energy and net-positive water outcome––despite being in a drought-stricken region.
The owner and project team designed a circular water system with the following steps: solar-powered atmospheric water generating machines (which capture humidity from air) is purified and sent to laundry which is then fed to irrigate landscape––it was also tested to be clean for drinking; grey water systems from the bathroom and kitchen also irrigate landscape including the twenty organic mature fruit trees and multiple raised garden beds; sink-over-toilet provides reclaimed water to the toilet; ultra low-flow shower head further reduces consumption; foot-controlled faucet pedal for the kitchen reduces water use when washing dishes.
The project collects 2080 gallons of rainwater from the rooftops, stores it in catchment containers, and re-uses it for irrigation.Design features to reduce home energy loads: insulation in walls, attic, and under the floor, shaded trees, roof overhangs, and heat pump HVAC. Additional solar was installed. Smart plugs, a smart thermostat, and meters and help occupants monitor and control energy use. Operable windows in each room provide natural daylight, fresh air, cooling.Emergency resiliency plan: portable freezer that is charged with portable power station/batteries, which are powered by solar energy and contains frozen soups made from garden during harvest.
The owner invited neighbors to a stakeholder meeting for consulting on the needs of the neighborhood prior to planning the living building activities. He hosted sustainability and wellness events to foster community and advocacy for his project from “urban gardening” to “children-gardening education day” “bike rides around the wetland creek”.
He trades home-grown fruit with vendors at the farmer’s market and a local restaurant to reduce his food waste from the abundance of his trees and encourages passerbys to pick ripe fruit from his front orchard. He converted a garage into an art studio and made a workshop area for neighbors to use for making furniture and to host workshops.