A holistic deconstruction and rebuild-from-the-ground-up process was used for this airy and contemporary zero-energy home, a project completed by green builder NATiVE for homeowners that loved the close-to-downtown Austin, Texas, neighborhood location of their small 1930s-era home but wanted to live in a modern dwelling that would be kind to the planet for many years to come. This Austin Energy Green Building Program 5-Star home, designed by Austin architect Elliot Johnson, will be featured on the 2016 Cool House Tour on June 12. 
Among the characteristics and features of this home:
- Passive solar design to reduce heating and cooling loads
- Natural daylighting approach to illuminate the home without the use of artificial lighting
- Advanced framing design to reduce the amount of lumber used and to minimize heat and cold transfer from the outside
- Framed using 2×6 finger-jointed studs, structural lumber that is manufactured from recycled off-cuts—yet is designed to be as strong as regular studs while being less susceptible to warping
- Spray-foam insulation
- Poured concrete slab with a high degree of thermal mass to help passively keep the home warmer in winter and cooler in summer
- Open kitchen and living living area
- Hardwood flooring made from natural maple
- Built-in floor-to-ceiling bookshelves
- Sophisticated HVAC system and fresh air filtration to ensure high indoor air quality
- Layout that incorporates universal design concepts to enable aging in place
- Tall operable casement windows with composite frames that never need painting and block thermal heat transfer
- Standing-seam Galvalume metal roofing
- Rooftop solar photovoltaic installation generates more energy than the home uses over the course of a year
- Shaded and weather-protected covered patio area
- Water-wise xeriscaping approach used for landscaping.
More about this home
Austin Energy Green Building Program Rating: 5 Stars
Builder: NATiVE (Lloyd Lee)
Architect: Images Of … (Elliot Johnson, AIA)
About the 2016 Cool House Tour
Featuring venues around Austin, Texas, the annual Cool House Tour is a can’t miss happening for anyone interested in high-performance, sustainable, and eminently cool residential architecture. Now in its 20th edition, the tour runs on June 12 for 2016 and offers a diversity of sustainable designs, including a variety of single-family homes, a pair of family compounds, and two multi-family developments. The event is a collaboration between the Austin Energy Green Building Program and the Texas Solar Energy Society. Tickets are $20 in advance, or $25 the day of the event.
