pla | Phillip Lehn Architect
GREENNESS LOTS B, C, D & E
Edmonds, WA
Greenness' four undeveloped view lots offer a rare opportunity to move beyond the uninspired, unimmaginative and poorly conceived residential designs that have become too common throughout much of the United States. Because Greenness' lots are so rare and valuable, it's possible to recover the higher investments in both time and money needed to research, design and develop better ideas that can then influence the design and development of more popularly priced housing.
Lot B - The Young / Kondilis Residence
Designed for a professional couple who wanted a more environmentally conscious house for themselves and two young brothers they planned to adopt once their mother died, the Young / Kondilis Residence integrated many technically advanced strategies for conserving non-renewable natural resources. It was the first new house designed for Greenness to obtain all of its required building permits, including three that were firsts for the City of Edmonds - garden roofs, continuous skylights with movable insulation, and bamboo rain screen siding. In 2006, the Seattle Chapter of The American Institute of Architects' Committee on the Environment selected the designs of the house and the park to feature in their "What Makes it Green?" program.
Upper Level
Main Level
Lower Level
Sustainable Design Strategies
The Young / Kondilis Residence aspired to contribute to the global evolution of a more sustainable architecture with inherently economic ideas and materials to improve more popularly affordable buildings and communities.
1. Active and passive solar power, heating and cooling: Heat storage walls and tanks, a thermal stairwell with opperable windows and a reversible ceiling fan to induce and convey passive heating, cooling and cross ventilation.
2. "Green" or Garden Roofs
3. Appropriately sized spaces and structural members
4. Extensive use of natural, compact fluorescent and LED lighting
5. Maximum effective thermal insulation
6. Advanced framing with engineered wood products
7. Movable insulation to cover windows and skylights at night
8. Sealed construction to minimize air infiltration
9. Stucco finished Rastra insulated concrete walls
10. Extensive use of rapidly renewable bamboo products for rain screen siding, shelving, cabinets, doors, treads, trim and flooring
11. Hydronic radiant floors
12. Heat recovery and ventilation systems with HEPA filters to recover half the heat from exhausted air.
13. Waste water heat recovery
14. High efficiency boiler (90%+)
15. Certified "Energy Star" appliances
16. Low flow water fixtures
17. Natural, less processed materials with benign finishes
18. Multiple use spaces
19. Barrier free accessibility
20. Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood
21. Drought tolerant landscaping
22. Partially earth sheltered to reduce exposure
Lots C, D & E
Preliminary designs were prepared for lots C, D and E to help prospective buyers visualize the kind and size of house that can be realized on each site. While each design was unique to its site, all share common design principles and sustainable design strategies including heat collection, recovery and subgrade storage.
Lots C
Lots D
Lots E