Jack and Jill Nooren have long hoped to live a more environmentally responsible lifestyle, and after visiting and falling in love with San Diego eight years ago while on a family vacation, they committed to relocating to the coastal community. The couple returned to the area in 2009 with their two children, and with the help of domusstudio architecture and Hill Construction Company, spent three years designing and building a custom, eco-conscious home that is elegantly integrated into the natural landscape of La Jolla.

Although the Noorens were forced to demolish the previous home on the property—a 1927 Spanish house that was one of the first in the La Jolla Shores area—they took great pains to recycle as much as possible from the demolition process, integrating original pieces with local, eco-friendly materials into a fully sustainable home. The property boasts energy-saving appliances, low-flow showerheads and faucets, dual-flush toilets, and LED lighting, while concrete floors with radiant heat from the rooftop solar panels and open windows ensure no unnecessary energy is spent on heating and cooling the home.

Committed to educating their family and friends about the importance of living sustainably, Jack and Jill used the process of designing and constructing their home as a means through which to teach their children, as well as the community around them, about the benefits of an eco-conscious lifestyle. Today, the Noorens’ home is not only certified as a LEED Platinum project, integrating mild climate indoor-outdoor spaces and utilizing radiant heat and solar thermal systems, but it is a beautiful, airy space with an abundance of natural light and a simple palette of natural, local, and low-maintenance materials.