Contractor ThirdWall, Inc. received the 2013 ABC of Metro Washington Excellence in Construction Award for the NIST Net Zero Energy Residential Test Facility in the category of “Residential” and Somerset Pool House in the category of “Commercial/Residential Renovation $2 – $4 million”.

The test facility which was built to resemble a typical suburban Maryland single-family home was designed to produce as much energy as it consumes over the course of a year and will serve as a testbed for new home-scale energy technologies.

The 2,700 square foot house plus basement and detached two-car garage feature an air-tight insulated building envelope, photovoltaic and solar thermal power, geothermal loops as well as energy-saving appliances and state of the art control systems.

The project achieved LEED Platinum Certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) through the USGBC, and Energy Star V3 Certification. “This was a challenging and exciting project from beginning to end. We are very proud to have achieved the government’s Buy America’, QC and design objectives in the highest sustainable means,” says Jerry Therrien, Principal of ThirdWall, Inc.

The Somerset Pool House was designed by McInturff Architects. Project owner is the Town of Somerset.  ThirdWall was selected to work with the team as the General Contractor based on experience in constructing numerous similar projects in the Washington DC Metropolitan area.

The new facility provides a contemporary, naturally ventilated building using airy porches, shuttered walls and outdoor pavilions to take full advantage of a beautiful wooded site. The project involved a number of very sensitive site conditions, including an adjacent stream, forest protection, active walking path, limited access bridge and preservation of parts of the existing pool and deck. Previously, this project received an Architectural Design Award and Wood Design Award.