Brooklyn, NY
2026 – In Progress

This is a single-family house, but beyond that, we hope it will serve as an example of what is possible today in making a sustainable, net-zero-energy, high-performance building that also offers a spectacular architectural experience.
Architecturally, the house is built around a courtyard. The bedrooms are stacked in the front section, and the living space (living/kitchen/dining/home office) is in a double-height volume with a mezzanine in the rear. The two wings are connected by a light-filled circulation space. At night the courtyard is illuminated by a large, multicolored, digitally controlled light wall.
We have designed the house to passive house standards: a super-insulated, air-sealed envelope, energy-recovering ventilation, triple-glazed windows, and no gas. We have drilled geothermal wells, which will heat and cool our heat pumps much more efficiently than outdoor air. We are installing a large photovoltaic array that will provide all of the energy the building needs over the course of the year.
The floorplates and most of the walls and partitions will be CLT. There will be no ceilings laminated to the bottom of the CLT slabs. This will make for very efficient construction with minimal material usage. The other materials in the building are carefully selected for low embodied carbon and ease of disassembly and recycling: instead of conventional foam we are using rigid mineral wool insulation. Our cladding is zinc, which lasts almost forever and can be easily removed and recycled at end of life. Our lighting system is modular and user-serviceable — lights can be snapped on and off a wired nylon belt. There is no wiring for electrical switches — they will all be wireless. Indoor air quality is supported with ERVs. The garage will house an electric car and charge it with electricity generated by the solar array.