Green Home Plans

What makes a house plan “green”?

Green design is everywhere, but ask anyone what it means and the answers will vary widely. 

Let’s review how most floor plans are created.  A typical house designer might begin the process by picking a style.  Colonial, craftsman, mediterranean, french country, etc.  Then some standard plans are created, based on historical precedent and what “sells”.  The pre-requisite rooms are drawn up with stylistically acceptable window openings, the elevations are tweaked and voila.  Finished.  Many of these plan designers are now promoting “green” floor plans.  Unfortunately what this typically means is they’ve bumped up the R-value of the insulation, and added better windows.  Materials and manufacturers aren’t specified so there is no control over what actually gets built.

Now let’s talk about the fundamental information that goes into designing a green home.  At SUSTAIN house, when we begin a new design, the most important thing we look at is the site.  All of the designs are based on a set solar orientation.  We use a north/south orientation to maximize natural light and minimize the effects of heat gain.  South facing walls are filled with windows with appropriately sized overhangs to provide shading during the hot summer months while still letting in lots of light for passive solar gain during the winter months.   Landscaping

POPLARhouse

One of the most striking features of the POPLARhouse is at the entry door, where water trickles over a stacked stone wall into a reflecting pool below. The POPLARhouse  is designed for easy indoor/outdoor entertaining  with a spacious kitchen located at the center of the home that opens onto a large patio, and ample room for seating.  A garden for herbs or flowers is conveniently located in the center of the patio adjacent to the outdoor kitchen.  Inside, the kitchen bar area easily seats six.

The master suite of the POPLARhouse is located on the main level, with a spacious bathroom and it’s own separate laundry area located just outside the walk-in closet.  A Kohler digital showering system with body jets, a hand shower, and a rainhead with chromatherapy provides customizable shower functions.  Countertops here, as in the rest of the house, are ECO by Cosentino. 

The main living area is just off the kitchen, with north windows for constant natural light and views through the kitchen to the outdoor entertaining area.  An Eco-fuel fireplace is recessed into the wall with television outlets and equipment recesses above. 

At the top of the stairs light floods in from the windows and french doors leading onto the outdoor roof deck.  The roof is equipped with modular green grid roof panels, that allow you to customize how much of the roof you want to “green”, and how much you want to leave open for outdoor furniture.  There are three additional bedrooms upstairs, two large and one small that could be used as a nursery or home office, and a shared bathroom.  The main laundry room is located upstairs as well, central to the bedrooms, along with the mechanical equipment closet.

Visit SUSTAINhouse.com for additional information including floor plan downloads and the gallery of interior and exterior materials.