The Main Stay House exists as a straightforward proposal on an urban infill lot, paring down the components of a house to a minimal amount of planes and openings. The scheme is anchored by a modern entry sequence and a staircase volume, both clad in iron spot masonry externally and internally, creating thresholds between the respective realms of public, common and private, by minimal means. The masonry contrasts with an otherwise muted interior atmosphere of smooth, desaturated surfaces. The entry sequence is a twist upon the conventional domestic front door, front facade, and fence. The front masonry wall replaces the typical residential fence and frames an indirect access to the front door, functioning as a privacy barrier while revealing slices of the interior to the public street. The staircase bifurcates the layout to provide a clear division between the common and private zones of the house, while clearly reading as a mass from all outside view. Brick and glass become portals between common and private zones. The design consolidates the service core along the west façade, allowing the structure to fully open the living zone to the pool court and existing trees. This directly connects interior and exterior, as well as human and nature. Freedom to vary the program or functional use of the area is enabled and strongly encouraged. Photography: Charles Davis Smith

Inspiration for a contemporary home design remodel in New York

LEED certification level: Platinum. Builder: GCCM Construction Services LLC dba UberGreen Spaces & Homes. Mark Twain said it best, "If the world were to end today I'd move to Kentucky because they are 20 years behind everyone else." There is some truth to that because Kentuckians believe that 'if it aint broke dont fix it'. We designed and built Kentucky's first LEED Platinum Net Zero Energy Net Zero Water home in the private sector. We named the home 'My Green Kentucky Home' playing off the state song 'My Old Kentucky Home'. Our take on a home should have people and the planet in mind. We found LEED to be the best most credible third-party green certification program to address these important challenges today. The envelope of the home was designed to minimize energy losses and maximize inside comfort by using Insulated Concrete Form walls from the footers to the roof, spray foam and blown in cellulose in the attic, rigid foam beneath the Lower Level basement slab and triple-pane fully insulated casement windows. The home was oriented with the back facing south to maximize daylighting, passive heating in the winter and solar production. Our HVAC is geothermal with a storage tank to preheat domestic water. A fresh air system was installed in the return side of the HVAC system to filter and then mix with supply air to the home. All paints were zero VOC. The reclaimed KY horse farm fencing turned into beautiful hardwood floors was finished with a low VOC sealer. Carpets were low VOC and the 100% recycled padding was zero VOC. The custom cabinets for the kitchen and baths were made locally and built with FSC certified plywood with no added formaldehyde. The home collects 100% of the rainwater that hits the roof into a 3,300 gallon rainwater collection tank. The primary use of the collected water is to irrigate the lawns, landscaped beds and supply the hose bibs. When the tank is low it automatically shuts the tank valve and opens the city water valve to operate with city water pressure until the tank fills past a certain level, saving electricity and wear and tear on the pump. The cistern is designed to service all the homes domestic water needs when KY State Plumbing code will allow it in the future. All appliances are Energy Star and locally made by GE. The counter tops on all cabinets are recycled materials and durable without requiring sealers or maintenance. We went a step further for indoor air quality and installed AirRenew drywall by Certainteed which works like trees do in the environment by pulling in VOC's into the drywall and making it inert. The Florida Tile was made in Kentucky with recycled content. We monitor all utility usage per electrical circuit and monitor the amount of energy produced by the solar panels as well helping the owners make more informed decisions. The home was such a hit that it was the catalyst that sparked development in a dormant neighborhood of vacant lots. We had the home open for three months to the public where hundreds of folks toured it as it was laid out like an art museum. We had actual walls open all the way to the outside layer of ICF insulation where they saw the concrete and steel inside the walls. We also had the lower level basement slab cut open to show how we insulate beneath the concrete and how we drain and mitigate radon. It was a super inspirational project that made people think about people and the planet much differently than before. We hope to continue making great projects like these to help inspire, educate and create awareness around some of the most important topics and challenges we face today. Thank you to everyone at the USGBC for helping us make this happen and the great work you do every day!

*Photo property of Pat N. / Plantique Inc. Living Orchids in clients unique containers. Plantique is the Premier Plantscape company based in Greenacres Fl since 1984, and is family owned & operated. We are an plantscape company, providing plantscape designs for high-end residences, public buildings, offices. We design interior plantsapes as well as exterior pool and patioscapes. Our maintenance contracts guarantee that the plants to look as good as the day we placed them 100% of the time. Our design service includes the latest trend in plantscaping, Living Walls and Moss Walls. Short term rentals for trees and plants are available for corporate events, meetings and all types of parties including weddings. Plantique, Inc. has been serving our customers since 1984, we are based in Lake Worth, our service area covers from Palm Beach County north to Vero Beach, Florida

A mid-twentieth-century family home on a busy city-wide connector with excellent public transport, and access to employment, services, and shopping. TEAL recognized an opportunity to transform the house into two contemporary dwellings by: • adding new structures: new stairs and separate entries from the street as well as a service room at the back • opening the interiors into spacious light-filled open plan living places • re-presenting the exterior of the building with new hemlock cladding integrated over the existing shingles • installing efficient new environmental control systems • reusing many of the materials, including the building envelope and chimney as part of a feature wall

*Photo property of Pat N. / Plantique Inc. Living Orchids in clients unique containers. Plantique is the Premier Plantscape company based in Greenacres Fl since 1984, and is family owned & operated. We are an plantscape company, providing plantscape designs for high-end residences, public buildings, offices. We design interior plantsapes as well as exterior pool and patioscapes. Our maintenance contracts guarantee that the plants to look as good as the day we placed them 100% of the time. Our design service includes the latest trend in plantscaping, Living Walls and Moss Walls. Short term rentals for trees and plants are available for corporate events, meetings and all types of parties including weddings. Plantique, Inc. has been serving our customers since 1984, we are based in Lake Worth, our service area covers from Palm Beach County north to Vero Beach, Florida

The Main Stay House exists as a straightforward proposal on an urban infill lot, paring down the components of a house to a minimal amount of planes and openings. The scheme is anchored by a modern entry sequence and a staircase volume, both clad in iron spot masonry externally and internally, creating thresholds between the respective realms of public, common and private, by minimal means. The masonry contrasts with an otherwise muted interior atmosphere of smooth, desaturated surfaces. The entry sequence is a twist upon the conventional domestic front door, front facade, and fence. The front masonry wall replaces the typical residential fence and frames an indirect access to the front door, functioning as a privacy barrier while revealing slices of the interior to the public street. The staircase bifurcates the layout to provide a clear division between the common and private zones of the house, while clearly reading as a mass from all outside view. Brick and glass become portals between common and private zones. The design consolidates the service core along the west façade, allowing the structure to fully open the living zone to the pool court and existing trees. This directly connects interior and exterior, as well as human and nature. Freedom to vary the program or functional use of the area is enabled and strongly encouraged. Photography: Charles Davis Smith

A mid-twentieth-century family home on a busy city-wide connector with excellent public transport, and access to employment, services, and shopping. TEAL recognized an opportunity to transform the house into two contemporary dwellings by: • adding new structures: new stairs and separate entries from the street as well as a service room at the back • opening the interiors into spacious light-filled open plan living places • re-presenting the exterior of the building with new hemlock cladding integrated over the existing shingles • installing efficient new environmental control systems • reusing many of the materials, including the building envelope and chimney as part of a feature wall

Full gut renovation and facade restoration of an historic 1850s wood-frame townhouse. The current owners found the building as a decaying, vacant SRO (single room occupancy) dwelling with approximately 9 rooming units. The building has been converted to a two-family house with an owner’s triplex over a garden-level rental. Due to the fact that the very little of the existing structure was serviceable and the change of occupancy necessitated major layout changes, nC2 was able to propose an especially creative and unconventional design for the triplex. This design centers around a continuous 2-run stair which connects the main living space on the parlor level to a family room on the second floor and, finally, to a studio space on the third, thus linking all of the public and semi-public spaces with a single architectural element. This scheme is further enhanced through the use of a wood-slat screen wall which functions as a guardrail for the stair as well as a light-filtering element tying all of the floors together, as well its culmination in a 5’ x 25’ skylight.

This Outdoor Living Space Display features various outdoor living services we provide. We featured water features, hardscapes, masonry, landscapes, outdoor audio, and landscape lighting. The main idea was to create a space where we could showcase our specialties for the public’s viewing pleasure. We encourage visitors to stop by and interact with this grand display. Night time viewing is also encouraged as the entire feature is lit up in the evening. In the future we plan to incorporate additional features to this project. At some point we hope to add an outdoor kitchen area as well as a fire-place. Upon entering the property, first thing to catch your eye is a fairly large-scale water feature. The water feature consist of an ecosystem pond. The water starts to flow from a spillway bowl fountain. The spillway pours into the bog filter. The water then flows down various cascading waterfalls. The waterfalls and pond were constructed out of 2 different types of boulders. We did this to show various options available. There is a gigantic boulder fountain that is incorporated into the pond as well. There is a skimmer in the pond the show functionality. The pond then flows over a zero edge waterfall into a large basin. Atop the basin is 3 fountains. 2 bubbling urn fountains as well as fire bowl fountain. The patio area incorporates different styles and colors of pavers. Along with different styles of boarders. There is 2 seating walls on either side of the patio area. Each seating wall has a mixture of stone and brick veneer and topped with flagstone caps. There is a very unique shed next to the patio area. Surrounding the patio are we installed an outdoor audio system as well. This system cranks out some serious sound. Stop by and have a listen! The entire project area is outfitted with landscape lighting. We incorporated up-lights, wall lights, path lights, and a couple of spot lights. The entire water feature also has underwater lighting installed. Landscaping was installed around the project to finished it off. If you’re in the Lancaster area be sure to stop by and check it out!!! Visitors are always welcome.

Headwaters Park Public Event Space. Highlight The combination of Hebel (Autoclaved Aerated Concrete) walls, an exposed structural steel roof system, and bespoke craftsmanship makes for a very interesting building. The individual spaces within the structure are striking in themselves, but we think the integration of form and function in the building as a whole makes it a unique and successful project. Detail This building serves as the main event and meeting space in Headwaters Park, which is just outside Lewisburg WV and is a project of the WV nonprofit Appalachian Headwaters. The main building is an 8500 sq ft single level structure with an expansive exterior flagstone patio. We designed and constructed the building, and also built the hardscape and water feature. Allegheny Design Services from Morgantown WV performed the structural engineering and we worked with Cole Burrell of Charlottesville VA for the landscaping design. The interior of the building contains quite a few interesting features and spaces. The main event space is about 3000 sq ft, and is connected to a commercial kitchen. Custom copper light fixtures were built by Molly Must, a local artist. There are also custom wooden light fixtures in the hallways and conference room, built by local woodworker Ryan Brady. We built wooden sound dampening panels to improve acoustic quality in a few of the large rooms. The building is heated with an in slab hydronic radiant system powered by a geothermal heat pump. In-floor radiant is one of the most comfortable ways to heat a building and when combined with a geothermal heat pump, is highly efficient. The building is also designed for passive solar heat gain in the wintertime, with large south facing windows. We added awnings on the south and west sides of the building to prevent overheating from the sun in the summer. A 90 kW rooftop PV solar system will provide most of the electricity consumed by the building, if not all of it. We’re hoping that the project ends up being net zero or better - we’ll know after a full year of electric bills. It’s a grid tied system, so any excess electricity produced will be sent into the grid. The building is fully electric - HVAC, water heating, and the commercial kitchen are all propane/natural gas free. For more information about Appalachian Headwaters and Headwaters Park, please visit their website at: https://appheadwaters.org

A mid-twentieth-century family home on a busy city-wide connector with excellent public transport, and access to employment, services, and shopping. TEAL recognized an opportunity to transform the house into two contemporary dwellings by: • adding new structures: new stairs and separate entries from the street as well as a service room at the back • opening the interiors into spacious light-filled open plan living places • re-presenting the exterior of the building with new hemlock cladding integrated over the existing shingles • installing efficient new environmental control systems • reusing many of the materials, including the building envelope and chimney as part of a feature wall

This Outdoor Living Space Display features various outdoor living services we provide. We featured water features, hardscapes, masonry, landscapes, outdoor audio, and landscape lighting. The main idea was to create a space where we could showcase our specialties for the public’s viewing pleasure. We encourage visitors to stop by and interact with this grand display. Night time viewing is also encouraged as the entire feature is lit up in the evening. In the future we plan to incorporate additional features to this project. At some point we hope to add an outdoor kitchen area as well as a fire-place. Upon entering the property, first thing to catch your eye is a fairly large-scale water feature. The water feature consist of an ecosystem pond. The water starts to flow from a spillway bowl fountain. The spillway pours into the bog filter. The water then flows down various cascading waterfalls. The waterfalls and pond were constructed out of 2 different types of boulders. We did this to show various options available. There is a gigantic boulder fountain that is incorporated into the pond as well. There is a skimmer in the pond the show functionality. The pond then flows over a zero edge waterfall into a large basin. Atop the basin is 3 fountains. 2 bubbling urn fountains as well as fire bowl fountain. The patio area incorporates different styles and colors of pavers. Along with different styles of boarders. There is 2 seating walls on either side of the patio area. Each seating wall has a mixture of stone and brick veneer and topped with flagstone caps. There is a very unique shed next to the patio area. Surrounding the patio are we installed an outdoor audio system as well. This system cranks out some serious sound. Stop by and have a listen! The entire project area is outfitted with landscape lighting. We incorporated up-lights, wall lights, path lights, and a couple of spot lights. The entire water feature also has underwater lighting installed. Landscaping was installed around the project to finished it off. If you’re in the Lancaster area be sure to stop by and check it out!!! Visitors are always welcome.

Full gut renovation and facade restoration of an historic 1850s wood-frame townhouse. The current owners found the building as a decaying, vacant SRO (single room occupancy) dwelling with approximately 9 rooming units. The building has been converted to a two-family house with an owner’s triplex over a garden-level rental. Due to the fact that the very little of the existing structure was serviceable and the change of occupancy necessitated major layout changes, nC2 was able to propose an especially creative and unconventional design for the triplex. This design centers around a continuous 2-run stair which connects the main living space on the parlor level to a family room on the second floor and, finally, to a studio space on the third, thus linking all of the public and semi-public spaces with a single architectural element. This scheme is further enhanced through the use of a wood-slat screen wall which functions as a guardrail for the stair as well as a light-filtering element tying all of the floors together, as well its culmination in a 5’ x 25’ skylight.

Full gut renovation and facade restoration of an historic 1850s wood-frame townhouse. The current owners found the building as a decaying, vacant SRO (single room occupancy) dwelling with approximately 9 rooming units. The building has been converted to a two-family house with an owner’s triplex over a garden-level rental. Due to the fact that the very little of the existing structure was serviceable and the change of occupancy necessitated major layout changes, nC2 was able to propose an especially creative and unconventional design for the triplex. This design centers around a continuous 2-run stair which connects the main living space on the parlor level to a family room on the second floor and, finally, to a studio space on the third, thus linking all of the public and semi-public spaces with a single architectural element. This scheme is further enhanced through the use of a wood-slat screen wall which functions as a guardrail for the stair as well as a light-filtering element tying all of the floors together, as well its culmination in a 5’ x 25’ skylight.

Full gut renovation and facade restoration of an historic 1850s wood-frame townhouse. The current owners found the building as a decaying, vacant SRO (single room occupancy) dwelling with approximately 9 rooming units. The building has been converted to a two-family house with an owner’s triplex over a garden-level rental. Due to the fact that the very little of the existing structure was serviceable and the change of occupancy necessitated major layout changes, nC2 was able to propose an especially creative and unconventional design for the triplex. This design centers around a continuous 2-run stair which connects the main living space on the parlor level to a family room on the second floor and, finally, to a studio space on the third, thus linking all of the public and semi-public spaces with a single architectural element. This scheme is further enhanced through the use of a wood-slat screen wall which functions as a guardrail for the stair as well as a light-filtering element tying all of the floors together, as well its culmination in a 5’ x 25’ skylight.

Calle Azorin / Mission Viejo now beautifully staged. This incredible property has sunset views and privacy. This estate home has been transformed to suit the finest 55+ living. Situated behind the exclusive guard gates of Casta Del Sol, this home will exceed your expectations. All new custom cabinets that have been accented with unique quartz slabs and designer backsplash. This chef designed kitchen has been set for the perfect meal preparation. Sit at the breakfast bar or choose your dining room for that perfect conversational escape. A separate office area to check your stock portfolio. The master suite is designed for you. The master bath is set with an extra-large shower featuring neutral high-end tile with rain shower and seat will help you energize to start your day. The home also boasts distressed flooring, new appliances, designer paint, newer windows and custom crown molding and trim throughout. A 2-car finished attached garage is included. The Casta Del Sol amenities include lighted tennis courts, a fitness center, heated pools and spas, billiard and card rooms plus so many clubs to join. There is a public 18-hole golf course located outside gate 1 designed by Ted Robinson. City permits for remodel available on request. This home is located on a very small private cul-de-sac.

Nestled within the vibrant urban core of the City of Lancaster, California, this illustrious project stands as a testament to modern community living. Comprising three stories and boasting 80 meticulously crafted units, this newly constructed apartment enclave offers diverse living spaces, from cozy studios to spacious 3-bedroom abodes. An integral part of a visionary four-building master plan, this community seamlessly blends functionality with luxury. It caters to households with incomes spanning from 30 to 60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI). Residents are treated to an array of on-site and off-site amenities, ensuring a truly enriched living experience. On-site residents benefit from a suite of services thoughtfully provided by the developer, encompassing comprehensive case management, primary health and mental health care, and holistic housing, education, and employment support. Beyond the confines of the community, a world of convenience awaits, with off-site amenities, including easy access to transportation hubs, esteemed educational institutions, and bustling shopping destinations replete with grocery stores, health clinics, and pharmacies. Moreover, this project's strategic location offers unparalleled accessibility, with seamless connections to public transportation and a plethora of social services and businesses within walking distance. It's not just an apartment complex; it's a vibrant, cohesive community designed to uplift and empower residents as they embark on their journey toward a brighter future.

*Photo property of Pat N. / Plantique Inc. Living Orchids in clients unique containers. Plantique is the Premier Plantscape company based in Greenacres Fl since 1984, and is family owned & operated. We are an plantscape company, providing plantscape designs for high-end residences, public buildings, offices. We design interior plantsapes as well as exterior pool and patioscapes. Our maintenance contracts guarantee that the plants to look as good as the day we placed them 100% of the time. Our design service includes the latest trend in plantscaping, Living Walls and Moss Walls. Short term rentals for trees and plants are available for corporate events, meetings and all types of parties including weddings. Plantique, Inc. has been serving our customers since 1984, we are based in Lake Worth, our service area covers from Palm Beach County north to Vero Beach, Florida.