EDIFY
WINTER 2020
VISUALIZING THE FUTURE
Visualizing one of the nation’s first mixed-income, Net Zero Energy communities. Article and Renderings by McLennan Design’s Creative Media Director Joshua Fisher
Our Creative Media Studio is dedicated to help good ideas take shape. We are excited and grateful to collaborate with others who share our vision of a future that uplifts people and places, supports equality, and provides social, economic, and environmental vitality to all. When our friends from Veridian at County Farm asked us if we could help them visualize their project we jumped right in. The project seeks to establish a profound new paradigm for community-oriented design, building, and living.
Veridian at County Farm is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan on a property with 130 acres of woods, trillium-lined trails, gardens, playgrounds, and meadows. The development aspires to be one of the nation’s first mixed-income net zero energy communities, and is going to be one of the first built Living Community Challenge masterplans in the country. It will be a 100% all-electric development, powered entirely by solar with no gas lines or combustion appliances of any kind. Homes include front porches overlooking greenways that connect to miles of surrounding wooded trails. Regenerative thinking even extends to the landscaping strategies with dedicated bioswales, rain gardens, and pollinator pathways that help revive the local ecosystem and include 30% of dedicated landscape for food production. Community amenities include a multi-functional community barn, greenhouse, and retail center with cafes and a full service Farm Stop grocery that will sell produce from local farmers year-round. McLennan Design’s Creative Media Studio worked with Veridian’s project team to visualize three key moments of the masterplan. The images produced helped the Veridian team receive unanimous council approval and continue to assist with ongoing fundraising efforts. Project Team:
Thrive Collaborative Matt Grocoff, ESQ, LEED-GA, LFA Union Studio Architecture & Community Design Ben Willis, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP InSite Design Studio Shannan Gibb-Randall, PLA McLennan Design - Visualization Fundraising & Marketing Package Joshua Fisher, Creative Media Director Biohabitats, Pete Munoz Midwestern Consulting, Engineering 18