What were your goals with the NextHouse Model Home project?
The NextHouse Model Home is really about trying to show how cleaner and more simple and modern design principles can work in a conventional suburban American neighborhood.  We were required by the local covenants to build a rather large house, so we decided to build the smallest home permissible on the site and to keep a very open floor plan to have the house feel very spacious.  The site offers a very beautiful natural setting and when considering this in conjunction with the mild climate we wanted to create a home that allows interior and exterior living spaces to blend rather seamlessly – this has been accomplished through the use of 24-foot wall of retractable glass that allows the living spaces to open onto a gorgeous deck suspended in the tree tops.  Our goal is to show that a home doesn’t always have to conform to the status quo – even though it may be legally required to be a certain size or height - rules which we find to be contrary to sound design principle and any kind of environmentally-conscious  thinking.

How does the design take advantage of sustainable technologies or modern building practices?
At Empyrean, we are adamant that all of our homes be sited so as to take the best advantage of natural influences on the site – this home carefully considers natural light, solar orientation, seasonal shading from vegetation, prevailing wind movement and many other influences and is designed to take advantage of them to contribute to passive heating and cooling.  We build exclusively with wood, and use responsibly harvested products in every application we can – this means using laminated Douglas fir and cedar, finger-jointed pine, bamboo flooring, plyboo furniture, and so on.  In addition we exceed energy codes virtually everywhere we build by using highly efficient windows, doors, wall assemblies, etc. 

What do you like best about modern design and prefab in particular?
To me,  modern design as we think of it here at Empyrean is not about adhering to a style, but is rather just about good design, and to us, that is design that is responsible and responsive.  Prefab is simply a proven and sound method of ensuring those beliefs are upheld.  Since we make what we design, we can control how it is made, the type of labor used, and what materials and processes are used in its manufacture.  Prefab is going through a bit of a resurgence right now, but for us its not a trend – its how we’ve maintained excellence for over 60 years.

What's your creative process like?
My process always begins with the client.  To design for someone well is to understand their needs, which means putting away ego and trying to enter the client’s frame of reference. Every client has a different take, and while they may be attracted to what they perceive as my design signature, how that signature will best be used for them is an unknown at the opening of each design process.  I like to meet a client and spend time just getting to know their attitudes toward their own lifestyle, what there aspirations are, and why they purchased the site they want to build on.  I like to get them on the site, discussing its potential and hear about there dreams for it.  A house is simply a method by which a better future is made possible – my goal is to understand the future the client aspires to, and then help them uncover how rich and full of possibility it can be.