What Does Home Mean to You?

By |2015-08-06T18:35:18-07:00August 6th, 2015|CTA Consultation, Projects|

Stearns Design Build has a big vision. As our tag line says, “we design and build happiness.” Specifically we do this within the context of the home. The home is the space that each person identifies as her/his own. It is not public. Home is where we go to find solace, familiarity, safety and hopefully

Roll-In Shower Remodel

By |2015-05-26T15:35:26-07:00May 26th, 2015|CTA Consultation|

There are many options when considering an ADA size specific, roll-in shower remodel. Although the primary need may be for wheelchair accessibility, a roll-in shower can also provide style and beauty to any bathroom. As you can see, the aesthetic flow of the bathroom was not interrupted by converting the existing shower into one that is

Local Donations Provide Upgrade for WIC Office

By |2023-01-30T06:56:13-08:00February 19th, 2015|Community, CTA Consultation|

College Station, February 9, 2015- When Amy Rensvold, with the local Women, Infants and Children’s (WIC) office called Stearns Design Build she was hoping to get a bid to have some laminate countertops replaced. Instead Stearns Design Build president, Hugh Stearns offered to do the work for free. Thanks to the generosity of Lowe’s in Bryan, who contributed materials at half price, the project could be done with no cost to the WIC office.

Therapeutic Landscape Network

By |2014-11-13T20:22:05-08:00November 13th, 2014|CTA Consultation|

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Naomi Sacks, who runs the Therapeutic Landscape Network. She is currently working on a PhD in Architecture here at TAMU. But her accomplishments exceed that of many who have long had such academic di...stinction. Her book, Therapeutic Landscapes: An Evidence-Based Approach to Designing Healing Gardens and Restorative Outdoor Spaces, is available on Amazon. Though Naomi's focus is on landscape design in institutional settings, I look forward to learning as much as I can about her approach and applying it to the residential setting.

Biophilia

By |2014-11-04T17:25:59-08:00November 4th, 2014|CTA Consultation|

To the extent that we seek “green” or sustainable solutions, it is not enough to consider the resources that we use in building, we must consider our relationship to all resources. We must design homes that put us into relationship with life’s resources so that we can become aware of our part of a process of dynamic balance.

Best Energy Retrofit

By |2013-08-17T14:45:57-07:00August 17th, 2013|CTA Consultation|

green building Which is the least expensive energy retrofit? A.  Installing solar panels B.  Replacing existing windows with high efficiency windows C.  Installing energy star appliances D.  Sealing air leaksWhich has the highest ROI? A.  Installing solar panels B.  Replacing existing windows with high efficiency windows C.  Installing energy star appliances D. Sealing air

SITING A HOUSE

By |2013-04-09T20:20:47-07:00April 9th, 2013|CTA Consultation|

It is easy to get caught up in all of the new building materials and technologies that are available and lose sight of the important fundamentals such as properly siting a house.  There are few things that will make more difference in terms of energy use than this.  The predominant paradigm in what some refer

Life cycle Assessments

By |2013-04-09T19:03:33-07:00April 9th, 2013|CTA Consultation|

One of the key tools in Green building is the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA.) LCA is a technique to assess the environmental impacts associated with each product, process, or service, by:Compiling an inventory of relevant energy and material inputs to a project;Assessing the aging process associated with the input;Evaluating the potential environmental impacts associated with

Profile of Stearns Design Build

By |2013-03-29T21:54:08-07:00March 29th, 2013|Community, CTA Consultation|

Stearns Design Build We would like to post a profile of a different local business every Friday.  I post this by way of providing an example of the sort of thing that we hope to include. The more that we know about our local businesses and the people who run them the more

Our Local Businesses and Nonprofits

By |2013-03-28T17:28:12-07:00March 28th, 2013|Community, CTA Consultation|

Stearns Design Build As our underwriting on NPR says, at Stearns Design Build "we are committed to the goals of environmental and community stewardship."  One way that we want to work toward the goal of providing community stewardship is by offering a blog post every Friday on a different locally owned and independent

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