Green by Design
“Go green from the very start.”
That’s the advice I give clients who come to me with their own home or renovation designs and ask me to build them. Now, don’t get me wrong, I always appreciate their creativity and ingenuity, but I owe them to ask the question: how green is your design?
Working with an eco-friendly architect makes great sense. They know how to make create a beautiful, functional, livable space so that green builders can bring that vision to life while being gentle on the environment.
And, of course, there are levels, for sure. Concepts of environmentally friendly architecture range from the design and build out of mud homes to a focus on high performance in buildings that minimize environmental impact while maximizing energy efficiency. These things are very different, but both very important as we move toward greater responsibility for Mother Earth and a more sustainable future.
I don’t want to debate those today. We can talk, until we are “green in the face,” about natural architecture — an emerging green trend that incorporates natural materials from your locality into the design and build of your home — eco-friendly design or sustainable building practices. While they are all different in their environmental benefits, there still is no doubt:
These ideas, concepts and initiatives ARE the next best thing to sliced bread!
It’s simple. If we design our homes and other structures focused on human health, nature and resource conservation, we can live long happy lives in a lively, healthy world…and so can our grandchildren…and theirs. If we don’t, we’re just irresponsible and selfish…among other adjectives.
I am a green builder because I care about my customers, their families and their communities. Because of that I always work with architects and designers who are committed to the environment. They are my partners in green and they work to design our joint projects to be healthy to humans, healthy to the earth and buildable, by me, using advanced building technologies that keep it all honest and sustainable.
It’s about sensitivity — human, cultural and ecological — and it just makes sense.
Whether you are interested in using all-natural and recycled building materials in a new construction project, maximizing the use of local materials in a right-sized home for your family, or simply ensuring high performance — and lower operating costs — in terms of energy efficiency, know that your design is just as important as the build out and the technologies you put in place.
Make sure your builder works with an environmentally friendly architect. It can help you in many ways. Doing so can help you:
Save money on your project
Ensure its quality, beauty and design excellence
Qualify for a number of significant incentive programs
Trust me. Make sure you or your builder works with a green architect or designer. Because when you start with a plan designed around green initiatives, everybody wins…for the long haul.