A Seattle family tasked Atmosphere Design Build with creating a sustainable dwelling in Nevada City, California, the matriarch's hometown and a historic mining community. The firm's material-driven approach channels the pioneer spirit of the gold rush, without compromising comfort or high-efficiency standards.

Simpatico Homes founder Seth Krubiner has lived in the prefab company’s nearly net-zero prototype since it was customized and lifted onsite in 2011.

Components for low-cost prefab homes designed by Habitat for Humanity and the firm Minarc for South Central Los Angeles were trucked in and assembled over three days. Photos by Art Gray.

Rice surfs the net at the built-in desk.

Most impressive of all, a solar array on the roof empowers the residents to produce more energy than they consume on-site.

Weinfeld’s cinematic streak is also evident in the home’s interiors: he designed the entertainment center in the media room. The rug is from Clatt Carpete & Cia. Throughout the house, the Strozenbergs use floor-to-ceiling curtains for privacy.

A view of the installation at the House for Contemporary Art in Belgium.

Numen's Net, occupied by gallery attendees.

At a net-zero home in San Francisco, the house's green roof is more of a brown roof: a desert-like array of native and non-native succulents that require minimal irrigation. The soil area is maintained with motorcycle tires (including one from a Harley hog), which control erosion. Composting takes place here as well.

Metal shingles cut from scraps of sheet metal mix with new material as well as odds and ends, such as a road sign Baker bought at the Alameda Flea market. Baker designed stainless steel clips that allow any tile to be easily moved or replaced without the use of tools. Planter box panels add functionality to the facade and can be swapped out or relocated throughout the year.

Rather than a one-off custom piece, Baker designed the daybed as a prototype and worked with Ohio Design on its fabrication.

The Catch lamp is based on a butterfly net.

“These are homes that are truly sustainable—they don’t create any waste in fabrication, and there’s no waste onsite.” —Tryggvi Thorsteinsson, Minarc. Photos by Art Gray.

“There’s no drilling or chopping,” says Erla Dögg Ingjaldsdóttir, cofounder of Minarc. “It’s a very elegant way to build.” Photos by Art Gray.

NET was founded by renowned architect Alejandro Sticotti in 1990. The firm prefers to use South American hardwoods that, in addition to being durable, anchor their products in their Argentine origins. For instance, the Silla ska chair (seen here) is made from lenga, a patagonian wood that resembles American cherry. The satin black floor lamp is also from NET.

Bullitt Center (Seattle, Washington: 2013) Denis Hayes, chief executive of the Bullitt Foundation, said that if the Bullit Center, his organization’s ambitious experiment in creating a sustainable and “living” office building, is still the greenest space of its kind in a decade, it will have been a failure. That’s not bragging, that’s merely an insight into the scope and ambition of this revolutionary structure, a testing ground for water and energy self sufficiency (via rainwater collection, composting, and a large solar array) aiming to be a case study for radical change in how we build. Based on stats released on Earth Day in April, the building’s first anniversary, the structure is currently using 75 percent less energy than a similar structure and is on its way to a net zero energy certification. Photo by Benjamin Benschneider

● Custom accent wall - NEW ● Dry laid stone fireplace (Renner & Sons) with limestone hearth (hearth cleaned and interior painted 2017) ● Haiku SenseMe ceiling fan - polished aluminum probably will not stay - will be replaced ● Hubbardton Forge wall sconces ● Tech Lighting pin lights - NEW ● Maple ceiling ● Cherry beams ● 6 Operable clerestory windows

● Waterworks -- Babette’s Border custom carrara marble mosaic tile ● Carrara marble floors and shower walls ● Kohler Sink ● Toto toilet - NEW ● Walk in shower with standard and hand-held sprayers and marble seat, towel or robe hook ● Handsgrohe sink fixture ● Custom cherry vanity and storage pull-out

● Custom grey wood and glass linen cabinets with LED light strips that activate when doors are opened. Include large overhead storage cabinets for larger linens by BC Woodworking. ● Custom opaque glass water closet with rolling door enclosure & shelf with sliding door for toilet paper & sundries ● Toto Neorest washlet with heated seat, spray, self-cleaning, air dryer air purifier ● 2 Panasonic quiet ventilation fans ● Robern Cartesian white opaque full wall vanities with 2 appliance plugs in end units, dividers, and night lights ● Robern M Series full length lighted medicine cabinet with USB charging port, makeup mirror, full length mirror ● Vetrazzo Palladian Gray countertops ● 2 Kohler “Whist” glass sinks ● Oceanside glass tile used extensively ● White textured porcelain walls; gray porcelain floor ● Jason Wu for Brizo black matte fittings ● Moen matte black towel holders and hooks ● 2 operable Velux skylights ● Fully enclosed windowed walk-in shower with glass transom ● Mr. Steam steam shower with colored lighting speakers, and aromatherapy ● Stone shower seat ● 4 body sprays, 1 rainfall fixture, one standard sprayer, one handheld spray ● Fog-free shaving mirror (hot water piped behind to keep mirror clear) ● Tiled niches for bath products ● 3 Studio Italiia Skyfall fixtures ● MTI Casacara stone oval bathtub

● Copper roof and gutters - NEW ● Hubbardton Forge exterior lighting - NEW ● 6 Security cameras around perimeter - NEW ● Doorbird doorbell - app-connected; with camera - NEW ● Exterior walls are cedar and dry-laid stone by Renner and Sons ● Marvin aluminum clad and wood windows ● Copper Velux operable skylights with screens in hall and master bath - NEW ● Operable clerestory windows in living room and master bedroom ● Custom designed front cable rails with gate by Hensley Design Studio - NEW ● Back cable rails by Iron Horse Forge rails; ● Trex bridge from porte cochere to house - NEW ● Curved back patio with scored concrete floor, accessible from foyer and kitchen, recently sealed

Accessed by a ladder with alternating treads, the sleeping loft features custom casework by Kevin P. Clarke Custom Woodwork that holds Kid Robot figurines, Hopi baskets, and an iPhone gramophone by Lawrence LaBianca. Lights by Pablo Designs are perched atop a bed that Baker designed. Peeking out from under the rug (made by Baker’s mother, Emilie) is a salvaged maple floor, which was finished with VOC-free flaxseed oil.

Sticotti cites a mixture of design inspiration from Japan, Scandinavia, and European designers who emigrated to the Unites States. A simplicity and honest expression of materials is evident in this coatrack made from peteribí and lapacho, both South American woods.

Designed and prototyped by David Baker Architects, the building’s siding was made from salvaged maple flooring left over from another project. Inspired by the Japanese and Finnish practice of finishing exterior wood by charring, Baker used a roofing torch to char the boards and screwed them into vertical cedar battens.

New York-based firm Khanna Schultz built a net-positive home in the Hamptons inspired by Japanese design.

● Queen-size murphy bed that pulls down into a table ● Surround over bed has overhead lights, book shelves, disappearing night tables ● Two other book shelves ● Ample closet ● Haiku SenseMe caramel bamboo ceiling fan - NEW

● Custom built maple and cherry trimmed cabinets, TV cabinet and bookshelves by BC Woodworking ● Custom made platform bed with built in side tables and underneath storage drawers by BC Woodworking - can convey ● 84” gold Haiku fan does not convey ● 4 operable clerestory windows ● Haiku light in entry - NEW ● 2 gold Carpyen Yoko LED wall sconces - NEW ● Windows on 2 exposures

● BC Woodworking custom-designed solid cherry flat front cabinet faces - NEW ● Cabinetry reconfigured with soft close doors - NEW ● Includes drawers for dishes and utensils ○ Regular and recycling trash cans drawer ○ Dish towel rack ● Glass handles and pulls special ordered from Bulgaria - NEW ● Birdseye maple fronts with cherry insets on high cabinets with pocket doors and roll out shelves for appliance storage ● Natural maple bar tops with cherry trim ● Blue Australe granite countertops (grade Y) - NEW ● Custom backspace oceanside multi-color glass tile - NEW ● Miele 5 burner gas stove top with glass base, wok burner, simmer burner - NEW ● Miele 1000 cfm downdraft ventilation system - NEW ● 2 Thermador 27” wall ovens (side by side) - NEW ● Miele G 6596 SCVi K20 AM dishwasher (knock to open, LED lights) (raised, hidden by cherry panel) - NEW ● 2 Sub-Zero refrigerator drawers - NEW ● Kallista 45” sink with cutting board, strainer, and silver rack - NEW ● Kallista mirror-finish Bacifiore entertainment sink - NEW ● Delta touch-free faucet in main sink with integrated sprayer - NEW ● Niche Modern Pod pendant lights - NEW ● Tech pin lights on beams - NEW ● Haiku lights ● Haiku SenseMe ceiling fans (polished aluminum may not stay, but will be replaced) - NEW ● Sun Valley Forge hardware on back door - back door is NEW

● Built-in maple and cherry dresser with leather and metal pulls ● Built-in desk with drawers and file cabinet ● Walk-in closet with cherry shelves ● Haiku white matrix composite ceiling fan - NEW

A bath overlooks the central water feature. A ladder leads up to a suspended net that's perfect for lounging.

Overhead, a 102-square-foot skylight fills the interior with daylight that streams through the catamaran net, where Ulla lounges.

●7.07 acres with rear views overlooking South Elkhorn Creek; lot extends over the back side of the creek (largest lot in subdivision) ● Heavily treed lot, including numerous ash, walnut, tulip poplar, peach, plum, redbud, dogwood, koosa dogwood, hickory, shaggy bark hickory, paw-paw, persimmon, various varieties of pine, varieties of maple, including Japanese maple, ginko, weeping cherry ● Park-like landscape design by Richard Weber of Springhouse Gardens (front yard) and Japanese garden by Andrea Wilson Mueller of Inside Out Design (backyard) ● Interior yard has stone and wood benches, numerous planting areas, grass and rock walls and other rock formations ● Owner planted 10-12 thousand daffodils, irises, and grape hyacinths as well as other deer-resistant bulbs ● Wildlife abounds - deer, racoons, blue heron, wild turkeys, rabbits, chipmunks, squirrels ● Custom-made copper and stone mailbox ● Custom designed shed for trash cans (left side) and package delivery (right side); all mail carriers will deliver to shed ● Security-Gated 1/10 mile drive ● Nativist rock walls, fences and, steps, and stone outcroppings and all rock placement in landscaping designed and installed by Richard McAlister of McAlister Stone ● Numerous varieties of bushes, grasses and groundcovers ● Water feature in backyard ● Trex bridge at rear of house over wash - NEW ● Numerous wood ricks on property filled with pre-cut lumber from trees on property ● Back yard light sculpture by Erika Strecker (does not stay) ● Wash or moat with river rock, sedum, and other plantings ● Graded so that water washes around property or into wash under bridge at front of property and down to the creek ● Riccobene Cobblestone Systems patterned drive

The compact 712-square-foot cottage sits on top of a 430-square-foot workshop, where Baker’s firm prototypes and produces custom furnishings for his practice. “Not only is there room for more density on most residential blocks in San Francisco, but, if thoughtfully conceived, it also enriches our communities and makes our cities more resilient,” Baker says.

Chicago Net Positive Home (Kipnis Architecture + Planning) The home manages a net zero rating thanks to a grid of solar panels mounted on the garage, which generates enough power to take care of the home’s electricity needs and charge an electric car and hot tub on the roof.

Chicago Net Positive Home (Kipnis Architecture + Planning) Architect Nathan Kipnis’ plans utilized super-tight construction, skylights, and carefully calibrated air flow to increase natural light and ventilation while lowering energy usage. Landscape designer Julia Bunn enlivened the 400-square-foot roof with a green rooftop garden.

As the roof had to be clear for fire department access, Baker developed a cantilevered frame for double-sided solar collectors that is elevated a few feet above the rooftop. The frame’s tilted configuration actually allows the panels to collect more energy than traditional flat designs. Seen here before the panels were installed, the frame holds sixteen photovoltaic collectors and is a 3KV system—large enough to generate more energy than the house requires in a single year.

Outfitted with shelves by EZ Shelving and a generic tool chest, the kitchen’s galvanized steel integrated counter and sink was designed by Baker and fabricated by DeFauw Design + Fabrication. A vintage pair of Norman Cherner’s Plycraft chairs and an A Chair by sustainable furniture-maker David Colwell surround a table by Pacassa Studios, which mounted a custom top on a Herman Miller Eames base. All appliances are electric, including heat-radiating panels, a combo washer-dryer unit, and an induction stove.