Stearns Design-Build

Sustainable Design

TRANSITIONS – A New Approach

At Stearns Design-Build we have developed a design theory that challenges traditional green design. Most green design focuses primarily on a building’s relationship to the natural environment. The goal, from this perspective, is simply to minimize the home’s energy consumption. But reducing energy consumption in the home is only part of the overall picture of sustainability. Quality design can affect perspective and thus have a pervasive impact  beyond the home’s walls.

Transitions to the natural environment

Traditional green design creates ultra-insulated, airtight boxes that isolate people from the natural environment. Our designs invite people to open their windows more days of the year and to step outside. If one only considers the energy used by the home, this approach may seem counter-intuitive. Because the home can have a profound impact on lifestyle and perspective, we choose to extend the reach of sustainable design beyond energy consumption at the electric meter. We call this theory of design, Transitions.

Modern home design is a study in isolation. Where we once had walkable neighborhoods, and homes with large windows and big porches, we now have neighborhoods often built without sidewalks and homes built without porches. A typical homeowner drives to their home, pushes a button opening the garage door to drive inside, then closes the garage door, shutting out community and nature before even getting out of their car. Their time at home is not spent on the porch listening to birds or in conversation with neighbors; it is spent in front of the television or computer, shut off from these things. This may be a good way to conserve home energy but it does not create a sustainable lifestyle.

Green Materials

The construction of our homes consumes huge amounts of natural resources. We are very mindful of the environmental impact of the materials we use. Issues like the distance those materials travel, their ability to be recycled, durability and the processes by which they are manufactured are crucial criteria in the design process. We are grateful that our culture has become more attuned to the need for sustainable building, and we are committed to helping deliver and refine these approaches.

There are now many products marketed as “green” that do not necessarily meet a rigorous consideration of what that means. An example of this is bamboo products. Bamboo grows very fast and is very hard which makes it potentially a green product. Unfortunately, at this time every bit of the bamboo building material sold in this country is shipped across the Pacific Ocean. While we have yet to find a reliable quantifiable means of considering the effect of transportation, we do not believe that shipping material across the Pacific Ocean can be considered green. Additionally, most of the bamboo sold has no quality control standards placed on it, meaning that it may contain toxic adhesives and finishes, and it may not be durable. It is not easy to create an equation for what is and what is not green. We try to weigh a wide range of considerations, including health, life-cycle and durability, when recommending products that fit into a Transitions design.