In the Wood River Valley, people work and play hard and many attempt to balance these aspects by embracing an ecologically friendly sensibility. The trend towards green building that began as a grassroots effort in the home has slowly spilled over into commercial building and now back to the home. Or at least that is the hope of some developers, consultants, architects and builders.
There are myths of course. One is that it'll be expensive to build a green home, another is that it'll be ugly. There are at least two examples in the valley right now that belie these myths.
The green building trend has taken hold in many similar communities around the country. For instance, the Aspen (Colo.) Efficient Building Program provides incentives for energy efficiency and the purchase of recycled and recyclable materials, and mandates construction recycling. Owners of homes in excess of 5,000 square feet are charged for exceeding energy budgets. Over half the City of Aspen's electricity is from renewable sources, such as wind or hydroelectric. The city also provides free public transit and parking for hybrid cars. As well, the Aspen Skiing Company has the ski industry's first micro-hydro energy plant, which uses snowmelt running through snowmaking pipes to produce energy.
While the Wood River Valley is straggling far behind in these community ventures there is room for hope, thanks to organizations like Citizens for Smart Growth, Wood River Ride Share and Developing Green.
The Green Building Council in Washington, D.C., certifies commercial space as green built, and is working into the residential building market. Until that comes to fruition several national entities are getting a head start by issuing their own Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED Green Building Rating System certifications. This is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. Patterned after the Green Building Council's LEED, the Ketchum-based company, Developing Green, Inc. is one of those foreword looking entities.
There are different criteria, which need to be met to receive accreditation: Site planning and Land use, Water Efficiency, Energy Efficiency, Materials & Resources; and Indoor Environment Quality -- Occupant Health & Wellbeing. Each of these categories has several sub categories.
Developing Green worked closely with builder Garth Callaghan and architect Jay Cone during the design and construction of a home north of Hailey.
"This is where home construction is heading," Callaghan said. "It just makes sense. You get a better product, it's healthier to live in, the monthly utility bill is much less and it has less impact on the environment. Most of the green features don't cost anymore and the others pay for themselves over time. It's a win-win situation."
Callaghan's spec house, at 3,700 square feet, incorporates many important green building features. Solar photovoltaic panels generate clean electricity from the sun, while other solar panels provide hot water and radiant space heating. Solar electric panels are mounted in the yard on three trackers that follow the sun in unison as it moves across the sky. Other key features include high performance walls using Logix Insulated Concrete Forms and radiant barrier insulation, which adds an additional level of standard insulation and also inhibits the loss of radiant heat in winter and gain of radiant heat in summer.
"Green doesn't need to cost more. In fact, it can save money if you follow green building practices," said Morgan Brown of Developing Green.
The kitchen interior is being outfitted by Marina Poole of Red Door Design with certified wood flooring, recycled paper counter tops and copper sinks, natural cabinets with natural frames that don't emit off gassing. Wood beams for the entry were milled locally and came from standing dead lumber in Slaughterhouse Canyon, east of Hailey.
"It shows you can use timbers in a green house if you get them locally and get them from dead lumber," Callaghan said.
Builders of another home under construction in Gimlet, while not using a LEED checklist, are incorporating many aspects to create a healthy home. Susan and Jerry Flynt and their residential designer Heather Madden used the same footprint as their original home on which to build a more modern and more efficient one. Like Callaghan's house, the house has been built using breathable walls. Durisol's cement-bonded forms are made of specially graded recycled waste wood. The forms are then filled with Icynene foam insulation, which can help to conserve up to 40 percent of a building's energy loss and improve indoor air.
"Once you go this far you need to go all the way to see it through to it's finish," Madden said. Throughout the approximately 6,000 square foot home, recycled and salvaged materials such as wood beams, carved antique doors and door frames are being used. The floors include recycled oaks and walnuts from a salvage yard in Oregon. Doors salvaged from the old Devil's Bedstead Building in Ketchum are now the entry for the Flynt children's playroom. Doors from their old house are being reincorporated as well.
Living Architecture in Ketchum was the architect of record on the house. "All our homes have a passive solar design to work with the Durisol blocks," said Living Architecture associate Eiron Schofield. "We do a sun study on the property to see where it rises and sets and design the house to work with the setting of the house. We do slab-on grade with radiant heat, and use healthy building materials including non-toxic paints, finishes and adhesives that don't off gas. And we look at the building occupant's health. That's a primary concern. Also the durability of a product is an environmental factor. The Flynts did have allergies, so they were really into that. They had a desire to do something different and we guided them through what they could do and what was available.
"A common misconception is that it has to look different or you're limited on your products. We have our ideal but we're also driven by our clients. We're building a house for Dale (Bates, the principal architect of Living Architecture) behind the office, which is totally green built like nothing seen here. It's active solar and modeled after European designs."
Living Architecture was recognized as one of the top green architects in the United States by Natural Home magazine.
"We're so glad there are people who're catching the wave," Schofield said.
Next: Living inside a green house
Residential Designer Heather Madden shows off some of the healthy features of a new home in Gimlet. Photo by David N. Seelig
