There is so much more to developing a design for an ADU or Custom Home than just making a beautiful building. Our approach balances aesthetics, sustainability, high performance, and maybe most importantly, healthy indoor environments.
Great design creates healthy environments.
According to the EPA, “Americans, on average, spend approximately 90 percent of their time indoors, where the concentrations of some pollutants are often 2 to 5 times higher than typical outdoor concentrations.” Armed with this data, we look for ways to make our buildings healthy places to live to avoid polluted environments that can negatively impact your health. The most beautifully designed home is a not a success if it isn’t also sustainable and a healthy place to live. A great home needs to do all of the above.
Indoor Air Quality
Indoor air quality is one of the many considerations that guide decisions during our design process for both custom homes and custom designed ADU projects. From creating spaces that have natural ventilation and can open up to the outdoors, to selecting materials that minimize toxins and off-gassing, we help guide our clients through the decision making process that leads to a healthy home. This includes selecting natural materials (like plaster instead of gypsum board), low VOC (volatile organic compounds) paints and adhesives, and heating and cooling systems that filter out contributors to indoor air pollution. A home shouldn’t contribute to conditions such as asthma, allergens, or other irritants, and the design process can help avoid these conditions.
Open to the outdoors
Before we look to mechanical systems like air filters on an HVAC system, we look for opportunities to create passive ventilation in our homes. This includes operable windows in the areas people spend most of their time - bedrooms, living rooms, kitchen and dining areas - and other ways to make use of natural ventilation for airflow, like natural convection to create airflow. The orientation of the building, sun shading, and other passive strategies can also limit the use of active systems that can move dust and toxins throughout a home’s interior.
A common design element we use in a lot of our projects are large sliding doors that completely open up spaces to the surrounding landscape. Living in connection to nature can help make our indoor spaces healthier and more enjoyable - bringing in fresh air, natural light, as well as views into the beauty of nature.
Don’t compromise on health
When creating a home for a family we don’t believe in compromising between a high performance healthy home and great design. A healthy indoor environment is part of our thinking from the start of each design. It as integral to our process as developing efficient floor plans, beautiful aesthetics, selecting high quality materials, and integrating sustainable strategies. It is only when all of these things come together that a project meets the needs of our clients and becomes a great place to live. By adding an ADU you are taking a great first step into building a sustainable home.
A custom home in an urban area wraps around a central courtyard so all rooms have access to natural light, natural ventilation, and have views to the outdoors. Natural materials, low VOC paints and adhesives, and high quality air filters on the HVAC system round out the strategy to create a healthy indoor environment.