Green Leader

Sarasota Herald Tribune | February 7, 2009

A Sarasota green-building company did not set out to build the greenest house in the state when it was hired by a Siesta Key woman for an extensive remodeling project.

It just worked out that way.

MyGreenBuildings, which already had built the state's second-greenest house, according to the Florida Green Building Coalition, two years ago, took the top spot with a house that company co-founder Steve Ellis calls "Siesta Key Zen."

The 4,000-square-foot house scored 234 points out of 300 on Version 5 of the FGBC's Florida Green Home Designation Standard. A minimum of 100 points is required for a house to be FGBC-certified as green.

Ellis, whose business partner is Grant Castilow, says more such certifications are likely on the way.

"We see lots of opportunity for driving even higher scores in our future," he said, noting that the company is working on several upscale houses that will be LEED-certified. LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the green-building certification program of the United States Green Building Council.

Ellis thinks it's only a matter of time, and an owner's commitment, before some project comes close to the FGBC's 300 mark. But certification is a moving target. The FGBC constantly stiffens its certifying standards as the state's residential energy code toughens. The leadership doesn't want houses to be certified for just doing the minimum required by code.

On Siesta Key, MyGreenBuildings extensively remodeled a 1978 ranch house that was in poor condition. Saturated in parts with mold, the house was rebuilt except for its foundation and four concrete-block walls, with the Sarasota architecture firm Osborn Sharp doing the design work. Ellis estimates the cost at $225 a square foot.

Owned by a woman who was highly motivated to build green, the house has many of the green technologies that have become increasingly familiar -- solar water heating, a closed and insulated attic design, energy-saving lightning and Energy Star appliances, HVAC with central dehumidification, water-saving toilets and other plumbing fixtures, and a manifold plumbing system that delivers hot water to the point of use on demand. The healthful interior finishes include green-core cabinets with no added urea-formaldehyde, and zero-VOC (volatile organic compounds) paints, sealers and adhesives and finishes. The landscaping is appropriate for the climate.

But much of its greenness derives from the passive characteristics deployed by Terry Osborn. The architect of the Florida House, the green demonstration house that opened in Sarasota in 1994, Osborn used 5-foot overhangs to reduce the energy load on walls and windows. Those overhangs give the house a Frank Lloyd Wright flavor, spiced with an Asian design sensitivity -- which is fitting, as Wright was much inspired by Oriental architecture.

"She (the client) did want more of an Oriental feel, something more calming," said Osborn, thus the "Zen" label. "The approach she was taking led easily to large overhangs. That works very well for the passive elements. We look first at making the house as passive as possible. If someone wants a style that typically has a short overhang, then you might have to use higher-tech windows if you can't keep the sun off of them. There are elements in our resources that allow us to adapt to those sorts of things.

"The passive-design elements that you have to do early in the design are not called out so explicitly in these standards," said Osborn. "A lot of these points, you get them by doing some passive design, and try to get something to solve two or three problems for you. It is a way of minimizing your load without additional cost."

The most visual of the house's passive elements are the open floor plan and a door system that enables entire walls to be open for cross-ventilation.

The house has "very simple, very Asian influences," said Ellis. "It is Balinese in the way it flows. She wanted to make sure the air movement in the home was nice and easy. To make it open up, we chose a NanaWall-like product, a folding accordion door system. We used a Jeld-Wen version of this folding-door system. There are 20-foot spans that are completely open and allow air to flow through."

The house is on a salt-water inlet, with views of mangroves. This makes for dramatic vistas, but insects can add some unwanted drama at certain times of the year. "We caged the exterior space that completely surrounds the home, with a big pool area. When you open the doors, it is like you are outside," said Ellis.

He credits the owner, who asked that her name not be used in this story, for asking the right questions.

"The owner was trying to decide whether to tear the house down," he said. "She liked the idea of doing something as sustainable as possible. She was very careful about the materials she selected.

"She was questioning how green it was throughout the whole process. The interior health (air quality) and her well-being was really critical. She didn't want any chemicals or VOCs.

"We kept saying, 'This is probably going to be off the charts.' We did not set out to be the greenest home in the state, but that's the way it played out."

Ellis admits that the house could have been even greener.

"We could have put a cistern (for rain-water capture) in this house. We could have put in photovoltaics (for solar-generated electricity)," he said. "There are a few things that we could have spent a little bit more money on to get further along the path towards zero-energy and reduce water usage."

He tries to dispel the "myth" that a green house has to look industrial. "This is more of a 'Sax Fifth Avenue' green home, as she referred to it," said Ellis. "This is what I think people are looking for. They don't want to give up high style. Not only did we manage to create a really beautiful structure, but we did it all the way green. There is something to be said for that."

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