Green & Sustainable

Efficiency is a popular idea in construction and design, although it is usually attached to energy and how to use less of it. Architecture trends, however, have plenty of room to accommodate design efficiency – especially in terms of space and materials. Here are some ways to incorporate efficiency into architecture and achieve great results. Think “Tract House”. …

When people typically plan their flooring, a few different options come to mind: carpet and hard-wood. There is another flooring option that is both affordable and durable: bamboo. And because bamboo is renewable, using it to cover your floors is environmentally friendly, as well. Contemporary Kitchen by Charleston Architects & Designers DLB Custom Home Design via …

As the economy struggles to right itself, mortgage rates have steadily increased after record lows just a few years earlier. Though many people were still reluctant to make a home purchase at the first sign of the increase, the trend seems to be reversing as an increase in August new home sales indicates. Up by …

Don’t let the higher price tags of energy-efficient appliances and home renovations keep you from conserving energy this winter. Thanks to appealing government incentive programs, going green can be very affordable, and will save you some major green in the long-run too. Here are just a few ways you can make green home improvements with government assistance. Appliances: Many …

Part of the practicality of green architectural design is in its sustainability, as well as its durability. When considering a home that has fewer environmental impacts, consider using a green roof in your home’s design. There are many benefits to adding a green roof to your home. The green roof is versatile and can be …

Our project English Country Estate begins demolition tomorrow, and this is not your average demo. The clients came to us wanting to build a gorgeous new English Estate, but they wanted to salvage the existing home by moving it to their property in the San Juan Islands. Starting tomorrow the existing home will be cut …

Now that summer is here, so is the heat, and by here I don’t mean Washington State as it’s currently 63 and raining.  We have heard it is hot everywhere else though, so we thought we would share an amazing energy saving, renewable option for heating and cooling a home. One of our current underway …

We have a new client who is interested in environmentally friendly building options. One of the options that we showed them is called Rammed Earth. Most people have never heard of this method, so we thought we would share this really neat and beautiful technique. Rammed Earth (as defined by Wikipedia)  is used for the …

Re-purposing materials for another use is a part of our architectural practice with our projects, but it doesn’t stop there. When we moved into our current office building four years ago we gained an extra conference room. A bigger conference room, which of course needed a bigger conference room table. The current table that we …

In terms of architecture, the words “contemporary” and “modern” are often used interchangeably. However, modern architecture styles and contemporary architecture styles are two separate types of architecture. Don’t worry about trying to figure out all the details that make these two styles different from one another, that has already been done for you. Check out all …