Urban Green Design

This home achieves sustainability through a high level of energy efficiency, durability, and low operations and maintenance costs on a limited budget. The flow and function of the floor plan is universally designed for the homeowner who is wheel chair bound and has limited motor abilities. With the use of multiple Universal Design features, the design assists the homeowner in maximizing personal capabilities. Using both LEED and Passive strategies to meet our client's goals, detailed analysis was performed on multiple layouts and construction techniques through the Building Information Model (BIM) to determine the optimized energy efficiency, durability and cost efficiency paths for the project. Several other sustainable features were also developed through BIM to provide a healthy indoor environment. Maximized accessibility was a must on this project to aid in improving the quality of life of our client. We developed several cost effective features through the 3D BIM environment to realize project requirements such as wide no threshold doorways, wide circulation paths, sliding doors, touch faucets, height accessible controls and wheelchair accessible niches for improved reach and connection to the home. The incorporation of the design into the hillside also eased the transition from the exterior living environment to the interior.