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Serenbe, a shining light of sustainability
I am writing this entry from the Blue Eyed Daisy Bakeshop in the heart of Serenbe, a community that continues to inspire me. Serenbe itself is in the heart of the Chattahoochee Hill Country, a 60,000 acre area Southwest of Atlanta that could help to redefine development practices around the city that has become known as the poster child of sprawl.
I'll blog more on the Hill Country later. For now, back to the Daisy.
I met some potential clients here today that had found me on EcoBroker.com. They are from San Francisco seeking to buy a second home in the Atlanta area as they visit often. They want to work with an agent who is green and can help them find a home that is as eco-friendly as possible. When they told me they were open to South Atlanta, I said they had to come and visit Serenbe.
All the residential buildings in Serenbe are Earthcraft Certified, the green building standard for Atlanta. The Blue Eyed Daisy holds the distinction as the smallest commercial LEED-certified building in the country.
But the buildings are just the beginning.
The community is being developed with an eye towards environmental sustainability in every detail. At a higher level, the entire 900 acres that is the Hill Country's first Hamlet will be developed in a way that preserves 80% of the green space. Not as a golf course or as land clear-cut and re-landscaped, but as truly unspoiled woodlands, meadows, and wetlands. The community follows the natural undulations of the hill country, or "sacred geometry", so land disturbance and grading are kept to an absolute minimum. Native plants and organic landscaping are used exclusively eliminating the need for chemical fertilization. The community is networked with a system of pathways making walking a viable alternative to the car.
The residential and commercial are concentrated using best practices in New Urbanism. English Villages served as a reference, but the architects didn't limit themselves to one style of architecture like you might find in Seaside, Florida or Helen, Georgia. Although all new construction, the Hamlet appears to have grown organically with a broad range of styles and influences, both old and modern.
On a purely aesthetic side note: the signage, benches, trash receptacles and other public fixtures are all manufactured in a unified organic theme. The street lights are masterpieces of urban artwork (see the picture above).
Waste water treatment employs greywater techniques and a constructed wetland area for natural chemical-free treatment of black water. This element alone deserves wide adoption by the metro area as an alternative to traditional sewer management.
In addition to all this, the community has a 25 acre working organic farm. The local restaurants like The Farmhouse and The Hil make extensive use of the locally grown vegetables and herbs. Residents can purchase the organic produce at the Serenbe Farms farmer's market on Saturdays.
I could go on about this crowning achievement in sustainable community. If you're looking for one of the greenest lifestyles Atlanta has to offer, meet me at the Blue Eyed Daisy and I'll show you around...
Burke Sisco
Take a virtual tour of Serenbe:
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If the economics don't work, recycling efforts won't either.
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