Mobile Bay Inspiration Home

Bedroom 2

Sustainable Design Strategies

Planning and Design

Even though they are flooded with natural light, the thick walls of the upstairs bedrooms add to a sense of solidity and give the bedrooms the feeling of a protected refuge. Each bedroom has its own “secret” niche, for a sense of mystery and delight as much as additional storage space. Ceiling fans in the bedrooms allow each person to fine tune their thermal comfort without having to make global adjustment to the thermostat.

Energy Efficient Ceiling Fan

The Wrap fan by Fanimation is on Energy Star’s list of their “Most Efficient”  certified fans. The curved shape of the blades reinforces the cooling sensation of air movement and the warmth of bamboo blades adds another biophilic element to the fixture. Fans save energy by expanding your perceived comfort range with the cooling sensation of air movement, without actually having to change the air temperature. In this setting, the fans help the space to function as supplemental outdoor living or work space.

Because our bodies evolved in natural settings with varied temperature, light conditions, and air movement, we still respond favorably to the environment with those characteristics. Rooms where people can fine tune their thermal conditions with a ceiling fan have been shown to provide a more pleasurable indoor experience than rooms with uniform temperatures throughout and no movement. The fans bring the feeling of a bay breeze, indoors.

Wood Flooring

The wood flooring used throughout the Inspiration home is a pale white oak with distinctive graining and a matte finish that gives it the appearance of unfinished wood. Using visibly identifiable natural materials is a biophilic design strategy that has been proven to provide emotional and cognitive benefits, including decreased blood pressure, increased creativity, and increased comfort. Learn more by reading The 14 Patterns of Biophilic Design by Terrapin Bright Green .

The adhesives and sealants used in its installation, are GreenGuard certified for low emissions.  Products with GREENGUARD Certification are compliant with stringent emission levels for over 360 Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), plus a limit on the total of all chemical emissions combined (TVOC).

UltraLight Gypsum Drywall

US Gypsum USG Sheetrock® Brand UltraLight Panels are Greenguard Gold certified, low emitting materials. Sheetrock is ubiquitous in construction, it is a heavy material used in large quantities.  Using light weight drywall is a simple step that greatly reduces the pollution associated with transporting the materials from manufacture to the site.

USG Sheetrock® Brand UltraLight Panels are 1/2 in. (12.7 mm) gypsum panels that feature proprietary core and paper technologies, resulting in a high strength-to-weight ratio composite design. These lightweight panels are also engineered to have superior sag resistance, eliminating the need for traditional 1/2 in. (12.7 mm) sag-resistant ceiling panels. The noncombustible gypsum core is encased in 100% recycled face and back papers, The light weight design is easier for installers to work with, and can improve construction speed and safety.

People tend to think of the environmental impact of a home or building in terms of energy use and utility bills. However, building materials also create significant environmental impacts, through the pollution associated with their extraction, manufacture, and transportation to the job site. This is called “embodied carbon,” with carbon being an indicator of all greenhouse gases, not just carbon dioxide. The environmental impacts of building materials are also front loaded in time, while a building’s energy use creates incremental impacts over a lifetime of use. Since the emissions that we produce between now and 2050 will determine whether or not we avoid the worst impacts of climate change, the embodied carbon of building materials matters a great deal.

For the greatest impact, prioritize the selection of locally produced and sustainably manufactured materials for heavy items that are needed in large quantities, like brick, concrete, framing, or drywall.

Wood Doors and Trim

Solid wood doors and finger jointed molding use wood sourced from Koetter’s own managed forests that were planted from vacant land. Keotter has won multiple awards for forest management Including the “Good Steward” award from the Arbor Day foundation and the Forestry Award from the Indiana Wildlife Federation. Solid wood doors are naturally low emitting materials. Finger jointed molding conserves materials by utilizing smaller pieces of wood joined together.

The curved shapes of moldings and door panels balance the strong lines of the cabinets. and reinforce the biophilic interior design, by echoing organic forms, like the curve of a wave or a seashell.

Interior Paint

The interior paint is Greenguard Gold certified as a low emitting material, or has an equivalent certification with small chamber testing. This means that the paint has been tested in a sealed chamber where any off gassing can be analyzed and measured for compliance with health standards. This is not the same as being labeled “low emitting”. Many products are labeled “low emitting” that simply meet legal requirements for the volatile organic compounds in their ingredients. They may only be “low” compared to materials that are no longer legal to use, hardly something to brag about.

Indoor Air Plus certification requires that 90% of all paints, stains, and coatings applied inside the home meet GreenGuard Gold or an equivalent certification. Not only the paint, but also all of the stains, coatings, adhesives, sealants, and caulks in this home were carefully screened to prevent emissions that could contaminate the interior of this home.

All of the paint colors used in the Inspiration Home contain no black or grey pigment, which make them extremely dynamic and responsive to differing conditions of daylight. This mimics the dynamic appearance of colors found in nature and is one of our biophilic design strategies.

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