ROSIE Offers Innovative Approach to Sustainability in Senior Living
Author
Vanita Carrillo-Rush
Scott Edwards Architecture’s Rose Villa Senior Living Phase 3 project developed innovative design solutions that address resident wellness, community connections, staff operations, and sustainability. The most notable sustainable feature is ROSIE—Recycled Organic ‘Stuff’ is Everywhere— a greywater reclamation system created in partnership with Biohabitats. Water sources in the Schroeder Lofts building are plumbed to deliver greywater from showers, bathtubs, bathroom sinks, and laundry to ROSIE at the garage level for processing. After being filtered and disinfected, the treated greywater is then plumbed back through the building for toilet flushing and outside for irrigation. The treatment process is multi-step and includes a pre-filter, a textile filter, ozone, and a micron filter before pressurization for reuse. ROSIE saves approximately 303,214 gallons of potable water per year and is the first system of its kind in a Portland, Oregon senior living community.
SEA, Biohabitats, Rose Villa, and the entire project team collaborated closely to design and develop ROSIE in line with Rose Villa’s vision for their forward-thinking campus. The graphic below illustrates the system’s integration within the building and how the process operates.
