We are hearing a lot about “going green” these days and while it’s, a compelling buzzword, many of our new or potential customers have asked us: “What does ‘going green’ really mean? Do I have to spend thousands of dollars on new technology and wonder if it will work?”
Our company, Mahana Homes/Verve Design Build, is -- and always has been-- a “green” design company. We are currently producing a post and beam with cedar kit home concept that can be shipped by container to Hawaii and erected easily by a local contractor.
Peter Fluker, Verve’s owner, was building solar homes in the early ‘70s and considered a solar pioneer back then. Today he is still applying those design principles to work in harmony with nature. Rather than design big, wasteful, overdone luxury homes, we opt for what we like to call “Luxury in a small footprint.” You can still have the luxury items you like, but do so with full awareness of environmental impact, and do so less wastefully.
We believe going green is not about what you add to a house; it’s the inherent design and the adaptability of a structure to the landscape. That can mean not cutting down rainforest trees just because it’s more convenient for the bulldozer, or not trying to recreate the lush lawn you had back East in a leeward area of Hawai‘i with minimal water resources. A great example of this is in Volcano, where we have built several homes. The community is living in a designated Biosphere Preserve adjacent to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and they created a brochure on Building in the Forest (www.volcanocommunity.org). It alerts homeowners as to what the native Hawaiian plants are and why keeping them is so important, both from a practical standpoint (like not creating runoff problems by clear cutting) and from an aesthetic one.
Our particular kit home building system is thoughtful design. The pole/grid system foundation of our plan allows adaptability to uneven sites or rocky hillsides, so there’s no need to remove large amounts of earth or forest to create a level house pad.
The window systems we use and the orientation of the house to its site provide thermal gain in winter when you want it, and the overhangs help to provide shade in summer. Placement of windows also provides excellent cross ventilation which means you don't need to rely on expensive air conditioning at the low elevations and are less likely to develop mold and mildew problems in the rainy areas.
The functional simplicity and beauty of the designs also emphasize what the quintessential Hawaiian lifestyle is about: the seamless integration of indoor and outdoor living spaces that can be enjoyed year round.
Along with eco-friendly design, we advocate using technology to reduce dependence on fossil fuels or municipal resources. Our homes have been built with solar systems with backup electricity, integration of water catchment with UV filters, photovoltaic cells, tankless on-demand propane for hot water, low voltage radiant floor heat at higher elevations, energy star appliances, and low-energy LED lighting.
Integrating these alternative energy systems requires different planning in each structure. We work with licensed Hawaii architects and engineers for all our designs to ensure compatibility and functionality as well as beauty and comfort.
Going green is also about respecting our natural resources. For example, our lumber suppliers were chosen from companies that have made sincere commitments to managed forests. This means lower-impact harvesting, extensive replanting, and using no pesticides or inorganic fertilizers.
We advocate the use of non-toxic finish materials for our timber structures. Exposed lumber is finished with low-VOC stains and varnishes, such as Benjamin Moore Eco Spec, rather than petroleum-based finishes.
From the start we like to meet with the homeowners to assess their site challenges, budgets, and particular needs, then customize each kit in the design phase for the homeowner.
Guest editorial by Melanie Boudar
www.vervedesignbuild.com
