Designing sustainable living with Jerome Elder at SCADpad

 Jerome Elder sits in a SCADpad unit
Photo taken by Patrice Worthy      

Jerome Elder grew up on the small island of Trinidad & Tobago so he instinctually knows how to maximize minute spaces. When he was thrown into the SCADpad project, an urban living housing community designed by Savannah College of Art and Design students and faculty, he took full advantage of the opportunity to  re-purpose a under utilized parking garage and turn it into a desirable housing location. 

Each SCADpad is the equivalent of eight parking spaces offering visitors a reimagined take on micro-housing. Elder, who majored in architecture in graduate school and undergrad at SCAD, and has a Master’s Degree in design for sustainability, created the greywater system. Elder says micro-living is inevitable and SCADpad provides people with a chance to see how it can be done stylishly with little to no hassle.

“Everything is a nutrient. I spent most of the quarter coming up with a simple do it yourself garden,” Elder explains. “It’s social, economical and ecological. Having a three pronged approach is important to me.”

SCADpad features three 135 sq ft living spaces - SCADpad Asia, SCADpad Europe, and SCADpad North America. SCADpad was designed by 75 students, 37 alumni and 12 SCAD professors from 12 degree programs.  Each space comes equipped with it’s own kitchen, bathroom, bed and study area. The community includes a 3D printer to create wall hangings, a life size chess board, a lounge area, a community garden watered with filtered greywater, a fiber optic sun harvesting system, and a high efficiency compost system.

“There is a day harvester on the roof that transfers fiber optics all the way down. The greywater system is most of the sustainability,” Elder says. “I was working with industrial design on how we can use this water. For us sustainability waste equals food. We eliminate the concept of waste.”

The water system provides drinkable water, water for the garden, cooking and bathing. The water moves through a filter that separates the cleaned water from the liquid waste. The NuBox is a waste management system made form reclaimed wood for recycling, compost and trash disposal. NuBox is made to teach residents to view waste management as nutrient management. Residents are encouraged to throw all food waste in the compost which in turns is used for the garden. Elder says the key to the project was understanding how people live. During his time interning in Princeton and a lot of questions came up about sustainability. Elder says the experience led him to understand how important sustainable living will be in the near future.

“Home ownership is on the rise and space is limited and this introduces people to living smaller, but living well,” Elder continues. “We love our amenities and part of the future is that space will be at a premium. Once people know they can do it policies will be put into place. I’m excited to see how they will use parking lots and abandoned buildings - like in Detroit - and the ways they will appropriate the space.”