Modern rustic residence in Kennedy, New York
Services  /  Green architecture

Buildings that are warm in February and cheap to keep that way.

LEED accredited·Well insulated walls, roof, and windows·Rooms placed to catch the sun·Clean energy for heat and power

Practice
LEED accredited, on new buildings and on ones from the 1800s
Work
Well insulated walls, roof, and windows, rooms placed to catch the sun, daylight, clean energy for heat and power, cottages made year-round
Money
The grants and credits that help pay for it, found and applied for with the design
Service
Green architecture

Good insulation is planned in from the start, not added later.

Most of what makes a building efficient is decided before any equipment is chosen: how well insulated the walls, roof, and windows are, how few drafts get in, which way the windows face, how much daylight gets in, and how the roof and overhangs handle summer sun and winter snow. The firm plans those in from the first sketch. Most of its lake work now includes well insulated walls, roof, and windows with fewer drafts as a matter of course, so the house is warm in February and the heating bill is a fraction of what the old cottage cost.

The same thinking works on old buildings. A block from the 1800s can be brought up to a modern standard without stripping what makes it worth keeping, and energy incentives can be added on top of historic tax credits for the right building. Clean energy for heat and power comes after the walls, roof, and windows are right, sized to a building that no longer needs much.

The firm is LEED accredited and has handled the grant and credit side of this work alongside the drawings, so the money that helps pay for a better building is part of the plan rather than an afterthought.

  • Well insulated walls, roof, and windowsInsulation, draft sealing, and windows planned together, in new houses and in renovations
  • Sun and daylightRooms and windows placed to catch the sun, with shade where it is needed, so the building does the work before any heating or cooling equipment does
  • Clean energy for heat and powerSized to a building that has already been made efficient, not bolted on to one that has not
  • Grants and creditsEnergy incentives researched and applied for with the design, combined with historic credits where a building qualifies
The midcentury modern addition seen from the corner, with its new second floor
A 1950s house with a new second floor. The new walls and roof were built to a modern standard while the old floor stayed put.
Dining area of an expanded lake house, with timber framed windows toward the lake
Inside a cottage made year-round. Glass on the lake side, and few enough drafts to keep it warm in February.
Recent work

Houses built or rebuilt to a tighter standard.

All projects
The order matters

Walls, roof, and windows come first. Clean energy is then sized to a building that no longer needs much.

All services
Also

Commercial and institutional
Start a project

Want a building that costs less to run?

New house, old block, or a cottage you want to live in all year. A few lines is enough to start, and you will hear back within two business days.

Start a project