The residence was designed for a growing family seeking to live year-round alongside a quiet lake.  The house is intended to be functional, low maintenance and practical, while taking advantage of the magnificent views, access to the lake and desire to make the outdoors part of their home.  The aspiration to serve both the family and the environment motivated the decision to seek LEED Certification. 

This residence incorporates sustainable design practices both in the building's performance as well as material selection. The ENERGY STAR® Qualified and LEED Certified house received a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) score of 63. The residence is built with a Superior Wall foundation; cellulose insulation was also added to the Superior Walls to increase R-value and in above grade walls after any penetrations were sealed with expanding or non-expanding foam; radiant heating tubes run within the gypcrete floors spreads the heat evenly; ground source heat pumps with 16 SEER air conditioning and a separate geo unit for domestic hot water; geothermal heat pumps that use 50 percent less energy than a conventional HVAC system; a structured plumbing system with an on-demand water recirculation and heat recover system minimizes energy used to receive hot water; pin-based DFL's throughout the house last a long time and reduce energy use; and a home automation system to control lighting and HVAC use to maximize efficiency when at home and away. The home also included a sustainable material and fixture choices. The home's Low-E windows admit natural light without over-heating the rooms. Bamboo flooring is featured prominently in the house, and zero-VOC paints were incorporated into the whole project. To support a healthy indoor living space inside a super-insulated envelope, the home includes a heat recovery ventilator (HRV). This ventilation system removes pollutants and excess moisture from the air while delivering fresh, outside air to the whole-house. Finally, even the landscape factors into the overall efficiency by utilizing rain gardens to and permeable surfaces to minimize storm water runoff, as well as plants that are native to the area and drought-resistant, thereby not requiring irrigation.  

As a firm committed to thoughtful, sustainable architecture, we are thrilled that East Mountain Residence has received LEED Certification. We are equally thrilled that the operating costs for the house are extremely low and that the family we designed it for told us, "You hit the bulls-eye. It is exactly what we wanted in a home and we smile every time we pull into the driveway."  

For more images of this project, click here.  

To learn more about LEED and the USGBC, click here.