In late 2004 we convened in Los Angeles to announce the winners of the Dwell Home II Design Invitational, which aimed to establish a model for sustainable home building in the 21st century. Long-time Los Angeles residents Glen Martin and Claudia Plasencia offered up their plot of land in Topanga Canyon as the testing ground. Escher GuneWardena Architecture’s unique design was selected as the winning entry, and they quickly got to work on plans for the 2,000-square-foot home located about two miles from the Pacific Ocean.
As with all architectural undertakings, there have been many hurdles to clear, and a project we looked forward to celebrating in its completed form within two years has stretched longer than anticipated. But along the way we have learned a lot and discovered many options for green construction.
Most recently, we have been pleased to have the opportunity to work with North Hollywood–based Green Sandwich Technologies. Green Sandwich manufactures what they describe as “completely engineered structural concrete insulating panels (SCIPs).” The company goes on to state that their “Green Sandwich Building System is the ‘greenest’ structural building product available in the United States,” with every aspect of the system, from panel manufacturing to panel erection, engineered so the products generate the least amount of waste, fuel consumption, and environmental disruption.
All of these factors convinced the architects and homeowners that Green Sandwich would be the best way to go. Additionally, the fact that the company is based in such close proximity to the building site made using Green Sandwich extremely attractive. Working with the new structural engineers on the project, Arka Engineering, Escher GuneWardena is now prepared to submit the basic design of the structural system and
the construction documents to the building department. Project architect Bojana Banyasz breathes a sigh of relief at this thought, merely declaring, “All of this means we are moving forward with Green Sandwich, and, permit pending, the Dwell Home II will be made of Green Sandwich.”
