NEWS FROM TRIANGLE
NEWS
April 9, 2008
Triangle Completes Construction of Cliffs Cottage on Furman Campus
Southern Living Showcase Home Built to Achieve LEED Certification
Triangle Construction Company of Greenville has completed construction on the Cliffs Cottage, a 2008 Southern Living 
Showcase Home that will be a model of “green” design, renewable energy, and operating efficiency. The project is located on the campus of Furman University, and is scheduled to open for public tours in June of 2008.
Furman University, Southern Living magazine, and The Cliffs Communities are the three major partners involved in the innovative partnership to construct the 3,000 square foot home. The Cliffs Cottage will be among the first residential homes in America to receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. It will also be the first environmentally sustainable Southern Living Showcase Home. The home was designed by the Johnston Design Group and built by Triangle Construction Company, both of Greenville.
The Showcase Home will be open for public tours for one year, and it is expected to draw as many as 30,000 visitors from across the country. At the end of the public phase, the home will revert to Furman and be retrofitted as the university’s Center for Sustainability, which will provide office and meeting space for a growing array of sustainability initiatives.
The Southern Living Showcase Home will highlight energy efficiency, green design, and the use of natural materials and products. The grounds will include a formal garden with native plants and a large, organic vegetable garden. The gardens will also feature an underground cistern and fountains that collect and use rainwater for irrigation. The parking areas and sidewalks around the home are designed and constructed to minimize storm water runoff.
A geothermal ground source heat pump and photovoltaic electrical system will reduce energy dependency. The home will also feature Energy Star-rated appliances, low VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) paints, sustainable flooring and other green products.
The Showcase Home is designed to receive full certification from LEED, which recognizes achievements and promotes expertise in green building by emphasizing strategies for sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality. In keeping with Furman University’s Strategic Plan, all major construction on campus since Herman N. Hipp Hall was completed in 2003 has followed the LEED standard.
Southern Living will feature the Showcase Home and gardens in several issues of its magazine, which reaches nearly 16 million readers each month and enjoys a circulation of about 2.8 million. Based in Birmingham, Ala., it is the 8th largest monthly consumer magazine in the U.S.