n08 Seattle Green - New Custom Home

This home provides clean indoor air for its occupants, utilizes locally produced, low-toxic, and salvaged materials, has a low impact on the site through water collection and green roofs, and has an energy efficient envelope. The following are some of the sustainable features of the project:

Site work:

• Original home was deconstructed and recycled with an 85% recycling rate
• Salvage from the original home included: windows, appliances, plumbing fixtures, electrical fixtures, and wood paneling.  The salvage items were either donated to architectural salvage companies, salvaged from friends, or reused in the new home
• The original foundation, with the necessary modifications, was reused for the new home.
• Post construction soil amendment.

Building Envelope:

• Advanced framing
• Insulation that exceeds the current code requirements.  The house utilizes a hybrid insulation system consisting of foam and batts within the framing and a rigid foam wrap on the exterior.
• Rain screen siding with fiber cement board siding.
• Tripled glazed windows.
• Metal roof for clean water collection.
• Small collection of cisterns for water collection for irrigation and to minimize the run-off rate during a storm.
• Green roofs (will be partially competed at time of the tour).

Inside the home:

• Countertops with recycled and post-industrial contents
• Tile with recycled glass direct from the Seattle waste stream
• Tile with high recycled content
• Salvaged hardwood flooring
• Carpet tile with a cradle-to-cradle rating
• Non-toxic, low-VOC paint throughout
• High efficiency, low flow plumbing fixtures
• High efficiency lighting fixtures
• Approximately 80% of exterior lighting fixtures that meet Dark Sky Standards
• Operable windows located strategically for optimal natural ventilation.

The homeowner, architect and contractor have worked as a team throughout the design and construction process to ensure that the sustainability goals are reached and in some cases exceeded.  With environmental sensitivity as the forefront of the vision for this project, much work has gone in on the part of all members of the team, including the homeowner doing hours and hours of research and reading, the architect pursuing an efficient design which encompasses the vision as a whole, and the contractor working diligently to craft this fabulous healthy home.