The Penn Laird Residence is luxury living in a traditional farmhouse, designed with a building science overlay. This home was designed with insulated concrete forms and solar pv as integral parts of the whole to add value to the house for a lifetime. The reclaimed wood floors, open living area, oversized bedrooms, high ceilings, and natural light all add to the charm. The indoor basketball court, golf simulator, putting green, and in-ground pool all provide recreational options. The screen porch, sleeping porch, rear deck, and elaborate grounds give plenty of places to relax and rest. The house is luxury.

This LEED for Homes certified New England Farmhouse surpassed all of our goals. It was a team effort with our client and builder. We all set out with the challenge of being the first LEED for Homes certified projects in the country back in 2005 while designing the perfect New England Farmhouse in Crozet, Virginia for a growing family. The LEED program was still in the pilot phase and was changing the requirements as we moved through, which added to the challenges of getting certified. The result is an insulated concrete-form home that is very energy efficient and convinced many in the area that this was a historic home once it was finished. The reuse of stone pavers for sidewalks, reclaimed wood floors, high performance windows, high efficiency hvac, spray foam (one of our first times using the product) for the roof, water efficient fixtures, and rainwater capturing gave us the points needed to get certified. The overall aesthetics of the home gave us what we needed to capture the heart of our clients. The end result is one of our favorite projects of all time.

In an effort to minimize the site disturbance and save the trees, we built a bridge and created a house that even a Lorax would love. This home sits in downtown Harrisonburg but appears to float in the middle of a forest. It has a bridge to the front door from a parking space off an alley. The four story walk up with a rooftop deck hides in the tree-covered lot and has an open feel on the inside. The light interior colors reflect the sunlight coming through the large glass openings, enhancing the open feeling of the spaces. The home has a secret room behind a bookcase, built-in bench next to the front door gas fireplace, and an open loft on the upper floor. It is designed around an efficient use of every inch of space with fun in mind at every turn.

With a family gathering space with 180 degree views, this house was designed to bring the family together and keep them organized. It provides various spaces for family and friends to gather and build relationships, host bible studies, share meals, and build deep relationships while being the hub for a working family. The home has wide open spaces that welcome in lots of light and is designed to be energy efficient and comfortable. The kitchen allows for many to gather to prepare meals and the large windows invite in the incredible views. The large wraparound porch provides spaces to gather in the shade or to take in the warmth of the sun. The oversized mudroom keeps everyone organized and contains day-to-day clutter all in one space by the garage breezeway doors. The primary bedroom suite is designed as an oasis on the other side of the house from all the other living spaces while the basement offers expandable living spaces for the future.

A new home and a research project, this client brought a higher level challenge to us. He wanted to build a carbon neutral home and wanted to document the process and test the results. Every project we work on is custom and this one is no different. Our client brought a very strong idea of what the house would aesthetically look like and we worked with the builder to figure out how to economically make it possible while incorporating building science best practices. We added to this academic research to verify most decisions to make sure they were not assumptions, but tested and proven theories for building science practices so that our client could publish the results for the most economical way to build sustainably. The home features ICF, triple pane windows and doors, LED, very efficient HVAC system (geothermal), ERV and more. There is a solar array on the roof providing for all the energy needs in the home and offsetting the home owners carbon footprint making the home carbon neutral.