While steel beam was another option, the green resource planning consultant Larry Strain of Siegel and Strain Architects in Emeryville, California suggested farmed wood because it engenders less pollution in the process and encourages lumber companies to engage in greener practices. The team pleasantly discovered Strain's review found most of green suggestions appear doable. The cost-benefit analysis will likely reduce the list somewhat, or find certain ideas only work for particular dwellings. For example, creating a natural sound barrier is integral for the composers' cottages as are solar collectors and passive lighting for the visual artists' dwellings. Paint, carpet and the mechanical air moving systems affect pollution and the environment the most.
Materials are one-time costs while energy is a life of building cost.
We're striving to go beyond what's mandated by Title 24 and choose the most durable, cost efficient materials, such as metal roofs which last fifty years instead of twenty, and also make rainwater harvesting possible. Title 24 is the minimum requirement for energy efficiency for new construction, as mandated by the California state energy code. Both Stastny and Strain anticipate integrating smaller interior finish items as daily reminders to residents of the commitment to environmentally friendly design, such as soy-based resins for countertops. Even the landscaping goes beyond merely preserving the existing old-growth trees and heritage plants indigenous to the region. Two riparian corridors exist on the site and are traversed along day and night by numerous deer, birds and other woodland denizens.