Go Green

Though building green may not be your first priority, Foundations Design can create a showcase for sustainable design. The result is a highly efficient home that beats every energy code by as much as 30 percent. Energy-saving elements may include radiant floor heat, a super-efficient cooling system and new foam insulation. Deploying design that takes advantage of passive solar gain through an abundance of natural light from both picture and clerestory windows is strongly encouraged when clients wish to pursue that approach.

Eco-friendly materials abound. The floors can be engineered Hevea, made from the scrap lumber of rubber trees. All the wood trim is often sustainable Plyboo bamboo, while dark-stained walnut staircases might come from already-fallen wood gathered by a local sawyer and milled in a solar-powered facility. Lighting is all low-voltage. A long bamboo shelf below the clerestory windows in the new living room reflects natural light up to the ceiling, where it bounces down to better illuminate the space.