Happy 5th Anniversary, D+A Studio

Our 5th year has been a big one for us, complete with being featured in numerous publications both regional and national, a regional design award, invitations to speak and present our projects, forays into writing with the launch of design.banter and articles for Builder/Architect Magazine, and of course, continually striving to provide quality design to our clients.

It has been a good year in particular for the San Juan Channel House, a green custom home on San Juan Island. (More photos of the San Juan Channel House can be viewed on our Facebook page)

Here is a look back at some of the highlights of the past year:

March 2010: BuilderNEWS, a national building magazine, features the Hare House Guest House and an interview with Anna. 

November 2009: The San Juan Channel House is certified Built Green 3 Star.  

October 2009: D+A Studio is selected by the AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) to give a presentation on transitioning to Design Build.

October 2009: The San Juan Channel House is featured in Builder/Architect Magazine: "Small House, Big Design." 

This also marks Anna and Anne's debut as some of the resident "Green" experts for the Seattle/Puget Sound edition of Builder/Architect Magazine. Our articles have appeared in a handful of issues this past year (including "Simple Steps for Greener Interiors," January 2010 and "Design Build: An Avenue for Women in Construction and Green Building," March 2010).

September 2009: The San Juan Channel House was chosen to be presented at the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild's Annual Green Building Slam.

July 2009: The San Juan Channel House is featured in Seattle Magazine Northwest Home: Island Adventure. 



 

April 2009: The San Juan Channel House is named a Top 10 What Makes it Green? Project by the Seattle Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. The winning projects were featured in  AIA Seattle's traveling exhibition.

In 2010, we look forward to the completion of our first official Design Build project through Studio How, the Hare House Main House.  


Thanks to all who have helped make our first five years a success!

The San Juan Channel House in the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce Building Green Blog, shown as one of the winners of the 2009 AIA Seattle What Makes it Green? Competition.

More information on this year's competition.

What Makes it Green? news

The San Juan Channel House is going on tour! The AIA Seattle and the Committee on the Environment (COTE) What Makes it Green? 2009 Top Ten Green Awards winners will be exhibited throughout the northwest. More details coming on dates and locations.

The Exhibition Tour is sponsored by BetterBricks.

10x10x10 Green Building Slam

Anna and I will be presenting at the Northwest Ecobuilding Guild's annual Green Design Slam on September 25th, 6:30pm at the Seattle Public Library. http://ecobuilding.org/chapters/central_puget_sound/10x10x10/. This is a fun, high energy look at 10 green projects. Each presentation will feature 10 slides and the presentations will be 10 minutes each. Our presentation of the San Juan Channel House will focus on the major areas of sustainability implemented in the project: site selection, minimal site disturbance, limiting house size while maximizing outdoor spaces, use of geothermal and radiant floor heat, energy savings through Energy Star appliances, daylighting, and natural ventilation, local materials and craftsmanship, non-toxic and natural materials, use of advanced framing, use of salvaged items, a construction waste management plan, and allowing for adaptability and transformation through separation of spaces and a garage apartment.

The theme that has emerged for the San Juan Channel House is "Real Green, Real World." The house was built for significantly less than other custom homes without cutting any corners with lower quality materials or sacrificing design. For example, Anna's must-have for the project was the set of 3 custom door and window combinations for the main living areas. These were built by the general contractors, Gordon Elliot and Gypsy O'Neill, in a shop less than a mile from the house. They purchased local fir which was locally straightened and corrected by Window Craft in Friday Harbor, where the other custom wood windows were built for the project.

A large portion of the budget was spent on these windows, which provide views to the front and back to keep an eye on the kids wherever they are playing, in addition to views of the forested back yard and the water, abundant natural light and ventilation. These walls of glass are priceless in the "delight" they bring to the project. "Delight" was the term that Gwynne Pugh, of Pugh + Scarpa architects, used to describe the San Juan Channel House during the jury comments of the AIA Seattle What Makes it Green? awards (http://www.aiaseattle.org/wmig). And though a large part of the budget, the money paid did not leave the community: it went directly to the contractors, the local sawmill, and the local window manufacturer.

So, "Real Green, Real World" is not just about building as green as possible, it's about building place in the Real World where people are delighted to live and be.