Living green now: lessons in earth-friendly design from our Green-Built Idea House

Living green now: lessons in earth-friendly design from our Green-Built Idea House
Sunset, Dec, 2005 by Ann Bertelsen, Peter O. Whiteley

-----------------

Like a compact hybrid car, Sunset's Green-Built Idea House is modest in size but big in resource-efficient features. Comprising two side-by-side homes in Menlo Park, California--one decorated and one with cutaway wall sections to reveal construction techniques--the project is an introduction to the rapidly evolving world of eco-savvy design. And, thanks to photovoltaic panels that seamlessly blend into the tile roof, the homes can purr along comfortably--just like that hybrid--using the electricity they produce.

Previewed during construction in our October issue and at www.sunset.com/green, the project is part of a 47-unit development, with 20 residences priced below market for teachers and city employees.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Three ways to go green
Advertisement

Building components

The homes are earth-friendly in their efficient design--packing three bedrooms and three baths into 1,788 square feet--and in their use of ecooriented elements such as formaldehyde-free insulation (Johns Manville, www.jm.com), low-emissivity window glass (Pella Windows and Doors, www.pella.com), a tankless water-heating system (Rinnai Corporation, www.foreverhotwater.com), and fiber-cement siding (James Hardie Siding Products, www.jameshardie.com)--not to mention the photovoltaic panels (Kyocera Solar, www.kyocerasolar.com).

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Materials and finishes

An elegant thin-striped bamboo flooring debuts in the great room and kitchen. The Vertical Gray stain from the GammaBamaBoo Collection (Gammapar/Armin Maier and Associates, www.gammapar.com) is nontoxic. The guest bath has a backsplash of 2- by 6- inch clay tiles from Fireclay Tile's Debris Series (www.fireclaytile.com), each of which contains recycled materials.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Decor

Recycled glass is the key element in many of the Green-Built Idea House's striking modern accessories, such as the nested red, yellow, and orange plates from VivaTerra (www.vivaterra.com) on the dining table and the master bath's luminous rectangular glass drawer and cabinet pulls from SpectraDecor (www.spectradecor.com).

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Green kitchen

The nonporous countertop, in Magellan Green by DuPont Zodiaq (www.zodiaq.com), is made from quartz crystals. The Amberwood Products (www.amberwoodproducts.com) cabinet shells are formaldehyde-free wheat-board. The red Kohler sinks (www.kohler.com) match decorative accents. Cabinetdoor panels of translucent resin from 3form (www.3-form.com) contain reedlike thatch for an organic look.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Green master suite

In the bath, gray-green quartzite tile from American Slate Company (www.americanslate.com) covers the floor and some walls. "We kept the tile pattern going in the same direction for a clean, architectural look," says interior designer Pamela Pennington. In the bedroom, the wall-to-wall carpet, Striations from Mohawk Flooring (www.mohawk-flooring.com), features a backing glued with nontoxic adhesives.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Green laundry/playroom

Cabinets conceal a water- and energy-frugal front-loading washer and dryer from GE (www.geappliances.com). The floor is engineered bamboo (Gammapar/Armin Maier and Associates). Cobalt blue recycled-glass knobs (SpectraDecor) match the lava-stone tile counter (Fireclay Tile). Teal and green floor tiles (Fireclay Tile) in the kids' bathroom are made of waste products derived from gravel, asphalt, and cement.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Green backyard

A small outdoor space means every inch must count, so we made sure there was a variety of activity zones, including raised planting beds, a sandbox, and a compact flagstone patio. Tumbled dark and light blue recycled glass from Building REsources (415/285-7814) makes a colorful mulch, and stacked recycled concrete, stained rusty orange with ferrous sulfate, forms another raised bed.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

PHOTOGRAPHS BY THOMAS J. STORY

RELATED ARTICLE

IDEA HOUSE TEAM

Architect

EDI Architecture, 415/362-2880

Builder

Clarum Homes, 650/322-7069

Interior Design

Pamela Pennington Studios, 650/813-1797

Landscape Architect

HLD Group Landscape Architecture, 408/354-9509

Development

Hamilton Park

State of California

Members of the Sustainable Building Task Force; California Energy Commission; San Mateo County RecycleWorks; California Integrated Waste Management Board

Nonprofit Partner

Peninsula Habitat for Humanity

TOUR THIS IDEA HOUSE

Both homes are open 9-5 Fri-Sun through Jan 22 (closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's weekends); $12, ages 5 and under free. Call 800/786-7375.

Special thanks to the City of Menlo Park

COPYRIGHT 2005 Sunset Publishing Corp.
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group

Back to Articles