Arielle Condoret Schechter, Architect, PLLC, AIA
Serdar NET ZERO-NET POSITIVE Micropolis House
This house is our most energy efficient so far with a HERS rating of -13. A negative score is a good thing in a HERS rating! The average
American house has a poor HERS rating of 100. The independent rating company says this is the lowest (aka best) rating they have ever seen. If you care about the environment with the added benefit of zero to low energy bills, talk to us.
But enough about energy for now. This house also features one of our favorite spa bathrooms that we've ever designed. Green home tour attendees deemed it "luscious" and "incredible"; we think we heard the word "sybaritic".
 Serdar Micropolis FrontPrecast custom concrete walls painted a dark gray contrast with the angled cypress soffit. |  Serdar EntryThe front entry is angled out to create the stopping point by the oversized pivoting front door. |  Entry Walk to the Front DoorThe angled front entry highlights the circulation path from the guest parking. |
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 Angled Front EntryA huge pivoting door welcomes guests. |  Serdar Soffit DetailThe deep cypress soffit screens the sun's rays from the interior in the summer, while allowing the warm sun to come deep into the house in the winter months. |  Front DoorThe oversized pivoting front door. |
 Living RoomThe living room folding doors are oversized and connect to the screen porch beyond. |  Living RoomCat shelves climb the walls up to a "catwalk" 12' above the floor. |  Oversized Living Room Folding DoorsThe oversized folding doors open up to the screen porch, effectively turning the entire living room in a screen porch when the weather permits. |
 Great RoomA Big Ass Fan helps cool the great room space without air conditioning many days. |  KitchenThe Kitchen has natural wood open shelving, high gloss flat slab frameless cabinets, stainless steel appliances, silestone counters and a Deckton covered Island. |  Kitchen IslandThe Kitchen has natural wood open shelving, high gloss flat slab frameless cabinets, stainless steel appliances, silestone counters and a Deckton covered Island. |
 KitchenThe Kitchen has natural wood open shelving, high gloss flat slab frameless cabinets, stainless steel appliances, silestone counters and a Deckton covered Island. |  KitchenThe Kitchen has natural wood open shelving, high gloss flat slab frameless cabinets, stainless steel appliances, silestone counters and a Deckton covered Island. |  Serdar KitchenThe Kitchen has natural wood open shelving, high gloss flat slab frameless cabinets, stainless steel appliances, silestone counters and a Deckton covered Island. |
 Serdar Master BedroomHuge windows allow ample daylight to flood the interior without excessive heat gain, thanks to a deep overhang. |  Home OfficeHuge windows allow ample daylight to flood the home office of one of the Owners, a jewelry designer. |  Master BathroomThis photo from the green tour shows the "kid approved" curbless, zero threshold shower. |
 Concrete SinkThe concrete sink is a custom design fabricated by a craftsman in NC. |  Custom Concrete SinkA custom concrete trough sink for two. |  Master BathroomThe large double sink is in front of a partially hidden zero threshold double shower behind. |
 Master BathroomThe double sink area with the shower behind. |  Master ShowerThe master shower has black tile going all the way up to the ceiling. The shower is curbless for universal access. |  Serdar Spa ShowerA linear drain in the pebble tile floor. |
 Master ShowerThe Master Shower has black tile going all the way up the wall except for an inset detail of Ipe wood. |  Serdar Spa BathroomA barn door obscures the water closet allowing privacy in a very open bathroom design. |  Shoe Display ClosetThe Owner's fabulous shoe collection is displayed or hidden behind a sliding barn door. |
 Jewelry designer Cheryl Serdar |
This modern, Net Zero-Net/Positive house is a customized version of one of architect Arielle Condoret Schechter’s Micropolis® houses, a collection of small, modern, sustainable house plans she designs that can be purchased outright or customized to accommodate specific needs.
Her clients, Cheryl and Ken Serdar, loved the original 950-square-foot Micropolis® plan she calls “Happy Family” but needed a bit more space. So Schechter enlarged it to 2222 heated square feet to include a spa-like master bathroom and a third bedroom that Cheryl will use for her jewelry-making studio.
Originally from Texas, the Serdars wanted their new home in North Carolina: to be "very modern,” “extremely green,” and “almost industrial." The exterior walls are prefab concrete sandwich panels with built-in insulation. The cypress soffit is a warm counterpoint to the concrete and shields the interior from the high summer sun. The floors are polished concrete. All windows and doors are by Awilux and certified for Passive House construction.
The house is oriented to the south for maximum winter solar gain, with extensive glazing providing an abundance of natural light. In the central living space, Awilux casement windows are combined with a wall of glass folding doors that opens the entire room to the screen porch, allowing for cooling cross ventilation. The solar orientation, deep roof overhangs, prefab sandwich panels, Awilux windows and doors, natural lighting and ventilation contribute to the house’s environmental sensitivity and Net Zero/Net Positive status. Schechter also utilized: • A small solar array of 6 KW (all that was needed to achieve net positive). • 5” of under-slab insulation. • Seals on all air gaps. • An Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV) for an extremely tight house. • A relatively compact footprint. The Serdars' modified Micropolis® house has a HERS rating of -13, (compared to the average American house’s very poor HERS rating of 100). Representatives from the independent rating company reported that this was the lowest/best rating they had ever seen.
Like their architect, the Serdars are passionate about animals and include rescued cats in their household. A “cat staircase” of simple, natural wood steps leads up to a 12-foot-high “catwalk” in the living area.
As Schechter was designing the master bath, she was "exploring ideas of what a luxurious, accessible, aging in place bathroom can be," she said, which supports her assertion that “smaller houses let you put your money toward better quality in materials and details rather than square feet." The floor and walls of this elegant space are covered in large-scale charcoal tile. A local artisan created a concrete trough double sink.
Schechter names her Micropolis® house plans for the inspirations they give her. She named this one “Happy Family” because she designed it to have bedrooms on opposite ends as private retreats with a central shared space between them. Schechter believes this plan offers "the type of spatial variety with privacy essential for a 'happy family.' "