April 15th, 2010
This is a beautiful modern home in Hudson Valley with carefully considered fenestration and use of daylighting. The 2,590 square-foot home, designed by Andy Bernheimer of Della Valle Bernheimer, was recently featured by GreenSource Magazine as a Best Green House for March 2010.
Features that put the home on the list include skylights, windows to minimize heat gain, FSC certified flooring, radiant floor heating, an efficient boiler, recycled aluminum in the kitchen cabinets, and overall low electricity use from passive solar design.
Discerning observers will note, nonetheless, the location and that the exterior is fully clad (with the exception of the office box jutting out the north side) in copper, a material on the Precautionary List maintained by Perkins + Will. When used as an exterior material, copper can be toxic to aquatic life and humans.
At the same time, we’ve yet to see the perfect green home as all design and construction decisions seem to involve trade-offs that are hard to examine from the outside. What do you think?
Photo credits: Richard Barnes via GreenSource Magazine.
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