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more photosThis 5,300-square-foot residential and commercial building in Sisters features numerous green elements, including a steel facade on the right side of the building, rooftop garden and a recycled concrete tile roof. The commercial space will be on the bottom two floors of the left side of the building. The rest of the building will be used for residential space.
Andy Tullis / The Bulletin
Pushing the green envelope
Sisters architect used mostly recycled, salvaged material for commercial, residential building
By Jeff McDonald / The Bulletin
Published: March 28. 2008 4:00AM PSTSISTERS — A steel facade is just one of numerous “green” features in Piper Lucas’ newly built house and commercial building, located a short walk from Sisters’ downtown.
The 5,300-square-foot building, which took two years to build and cost just more than $800,000, is composed of about 80 percent recycled and salvaged materials, Lucas said. Its green features also include materials bought locally and a small carbon footprint, Lucas said.
The 27-year-old architectural designer, owner of Sisters-based Twiline LLC, hopes the energy efficiencies and green appeal of the four-level building, which includes commercial space in the basement and first floors, will increase its market value.
“I think the market is saturated with typical — but not really pushing the envelope — houses,” she said. “The consumer is becoming more aware about more choices that save on high gas and energy costs. People are not thinking as much about real estate as an investment, but as a living space.”
The most noticeable exterior feature of Lucas’ house is its steel facade, which was formed in a machine shop and rusted on the property for three months before assembling, said Chris Veatch, a metal artist with Henshall and Veatch Co., of Bend.
“It takes a long time to do it with steel — it’s a lot harder to work with than wood,” Veatch said. “But it’s a lifetime material that doesn’t need to be repainted or refinished.”
A 26-foot-long ridge beam was reclaimed from a bridge in Napa, Calif., then installed in the top floor of her building.
Other salvaged lumber products were milled at MoreWood Products in Bend, Lucas said.
MoreWood converted the salvaged lumber into flooring, staircase steps, and all the finish and trim material, said Scott Morelock, president of MoreWood.
“She’s leading the way for that kind of thing,” Morelock said. “People pay a lot of money for that reclaimed look. Instead of taking it apart and adding to the landfill, people take it to us — and we turn it into a finished product.”
The building also includes Forest Stewardship Council-certified lumber purchased from Warm Springs Forest Products Industries, which means the wood was harvested and milled using certified sustainable practices, Lucas said.
Other green features include floors that have heated water running through pipes underneath to promote energy conservation, natural wool carpeting, and a recycled concrete tile roof, Lucas said.
Lucas plans to sell one of the townhomes on the property and lease out the commercial space to promote the city’s local music or arts scene, she said.
“It could be a wine bar or a cooperative for local artists, or a bookstore,” she said. “It would sell something collectible, something really unique.”
Green building has slowed with the housing market downturn, but demand has remained strong for custom-built homes, according to Bruce Sullivan, a green building consultant for Earth Advantage Inc. in Bend, an organization that offers green building consultation and training for local builders and real estate professionals.
In 2007, the organization certified 29 percent of the single-family homes built in Central Oregon as Earth Advantage homes, compared with 19 percent in 2006, Sullivan said. Earth Advantage is a national standard that measures homes for their energy efficiency, indoor air quality, environmental responsibility and resource efficiency, according to the Web site, www.earthadvantagehomes .com/about/whatmakes.asp.
“Most of the homes certified (in Central Oregon) were production homes, but there’s a growing interest among custom home builders,” he said. “People are cutting back in the production home market this year, and custom homes are getting a bigger piece of the pie.”
Sullivan cited five categories — energy, health, water conservation, land use and materials — that are essential for a house to be considered certified “green.”
“The key is that you think of the entire package, not just one or two elements,” he said. “A lot of people focus on just the materials, but to be green it has to be really well-rounded.”
Similar spaces have been built at NorthWest Crossing in Bend and around the region, Sullivan said.
Lucas also developed the house on an infill lot, instead of building outside of town and contributing to sprawl, said Sullivan, who reviewed the Sisters building during its construction.
She did a lot of things right in her project, he said.
Jeff McDonald can be reached at 383-0323 or at jmcdonald@bendbulletin.com.
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