Note: Our tour is text based, following our written self-guided tour.  We also have short, optional MPEG (*.mpg) 
videos to supplement the text and photgraphs.  To view the MPEG files, you may need
to download a viewer.   We like the Windows Media Player (for Windows users) 
or Sparkle (for MAC users) or MpegTV (for Linux) if you need to download a viewer.

INTRODUCTION TO 113 CALHOUN STREET

SUSTAINABILITY
 The 113 Calhoun Street Foundation’s Center for Sustainable Living is dedicated to the premise that living within the “earth’s means” is the key to a sustainable society.  The United Nations has defined sustainable living as “meeting the needs of the present without sacrificing the ability of future generations to meet their needs.” 

When most people think of the concept of “sustainability”, they think of things like water and energy conservation, and recycling and re-use.  At 113 Calhoun Street, another element has been added to this mix – hazard mitigation.  In this context, hazard mitigation means reducing the vulnerability of a home to damage from natural hazards – wind, flood, and earthquake.  Within the concept of “sustainability” people are a part of nature and should strive to live as a part of the natural system. 

Natural hazards are a fact of life along the South Carolina coast and in the rest of the state and nation, too.  Designing and building homes that resist damage from floods, wind and earthquakes protects lives and property and conserves the resources required to repair and rebuild homes if they are damaged or destroyed.  The aftermath of Hurricane Hugo provides an excellent example of how resources have been wasted in the wake of a natural disaster.  In Charleston alone, the debris created by Hugo, much of it building debris, put the equivalent of ten years use on the area’s landfill in just one year.  While hazard resistant building practices will not eliminate this waste, they will undoubtedly reduce it.  Hazards become disasters when people have not planned and prepared for them.  This planning and preparation is an important element of “sustainable living”. 

BACKGROUND
 The 113 Calhoun Street Foundation’s “113 Calhoun Street: A Center for Sustainable Living” is a public, private, academic partnership to develop and conduct educational programs that address sustainability needs of communities to minimize threats to public health and safety and enhance conservation of natural resources. These strategies represent elements essential for long-term community economic development, resource enhancement and quality of life.

 The Center’s overall mission is accomplished by developing low-cost tools and techniques, educational activities, and technical assistance programs in three areas: 
(1) Natural Hazards Mitigation
(2) Sustainable Building Practices
(3) Sustainable Living

 
The house at 113 Calhoun Street, estimated to have been built between 1875 and 1880, is a variant of the traditional Charleston “single house” style.  While the typical single house design has a door that leads onto the porch, or piazza, this house is constructed with the front door facing the street.  Because the house is located within Charleston’s historic district, all renovations to the building’s exterior were governed by the Charleston Board of Architectural Review (BAR).  The building, already abandoned and derelict before Hurricane Hugo struck in 1989, suffered additional extensive damage in the storm and was near collapse when it was donated, in 1997, by the City of Charleston to the 113 Calhoun Street Foundation for use as a center for “sustainable living”. 

In the years between Hurricane Hugo and the acquisition of the building by the Foundation, the roofless, windowless building was at the mercy of the elements.  The first job was to clean-up and shore-up the structure of the building, and place temporary coverings on the roof and windows.  Once the building had been stabilized, a design and construction team was formed to execute the project.  It included a local architect; Clemson University Civil Engineering faculty members, local consulting engineers; a general contractor and a Foundation project manager. 

The goal of the design team was to plan and execute a complete renovation and retrofit of the house according to the principles of sustainable building and resistance to natural hazards, including wind, flood and earthquake.  Principal funding for the construction phase of the project was provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through a series of “hazard mitigation” grants.  Additional financial support has been provided by numerous individuals, businesses and organizations.  This support came mostly in the form of donated products and services.  (See Donors)

The construction phase of the project ended in October 2000 when the building was formally dedicated by Mayor Joseph P. Riley and opened to the public for tours and other educational programs. 

Ready? Continue to the Exterior.