Speaking of recycling, the home has a second kitchen that resides on the top-floor penthouse, where you can place your utensils and cups down on PaperStone countertops. They have the strength of stone, Davies says, but are made of 100-percent recycled paper. “The concept of reuse, I found it just so interesting,” says Davies, who wrote a thesis on recycling buildings while at San Diego State. “It’s a challenge to figure out the best way to do things, and we’ve taken on a motto to be a green builder. This seemed like it was doing our part to help the environment and create a beautiful project out of it.”

Also on the interior, cabinets are formaldehyde-free and green-certified by the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association, and the Sherwin Williams Harmony paint is VOC-free and green—though the wall colors might not be.

Control and Convenience
The theater projector and big-screen plasmas in the home, however, aren’t the friendliest for the environment. They’re also not where Baumeister’s team needed to shine. In a home this big, with multiple levels, programming and installing lighting and climate controls are at the heart of electronics efficiency. In this case, a Lutron HomeWorks system and Crestron home control system work together to provide savings on utility bills.

“In almost every project we’re doing, there’s an aspect of lighting control,” says Shaun Barkman, a design consultant for Baumeister. “In most, there’s climate control, but because of the green initiative in Chicago it’s a big push.” The team was able to schedule automatic lighting events for specific times of the day and program scenes that manage the amount of lights in use and the intensity of the lights. A party scene, for example, uses more of the kitchen’s can lighting than task lighting to accent particular areas. A welcome home mode provides a safely lit path inside and disarms the security system, while an in-usage scene reduces wall sconces to half brightness for stairwell travel.

All-in-one touchscreens and half-dollar-sized remote temperature sensors also enhanced the decor. “It was a big concern for [interior designer Susan Fredman], because she didn’t want to see technology anywhere,” adds Barkman. “An all-governing system allowed us to do things like eliminate wall ‘acne’ and offer all the flexibility the future homeowners wanted.” In-wall and in-ceiling loudspeakers, plus the bedroom’s pop-up plasma, also aided the decor. Form, functionality, electronics and green all living in harmony? Now that’s Zen.

Checking the Checklist
How did this home score after using green architect Kevin Pierce’s checklist? Here’s what he listed as the top efforts:

1. Site selection: People who live in walkable city neighborhoods average much less than a typical auto-oriented locale, which can exceed 25,000 miles per year.
2. Durable and handsome construction: This home is built to last a long time. Materials with long life cycles are of little use when installed in buildings of short lives.
3. Well-constructed and well-insulated building envelope: The walls, doors, roofs and windows of a building are its first line of defense again heat loss. More important, it’s constructed to minimize air leakage, which is a greater issue in most buildings.
4. High-efficiency, smart HVAC systems: Once the building is tight, efficient systems can provide comfort with energy savings. This home is zoned and has programmable thermostats, so heat can be low in areas that are unoccupied.

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Arlen Schweiger - Managing editor of Electronic House Magazine

Arlen contributes product news items to electronichouse.com along with his role on the print publication. Got a tip? Send it along!