zHome Visit | Issaquah, WA

On their website the Z-Homes that are located in the Issaquah Highlands are described as, “zHome is a revolutionary, 10-unit townhome development that uses smart design and cutting edge technologies to radically reduce its environmental impacts. zHome will prove that homes that use zero net energy and 60% less water, emit net zero carbon emissions, have clean indoor air and use only low-toxicity materials are possible and scalable to mainstream home production.” By visiting this particular site and learning about their particular design philosophy I have grown to be more aware of how to be as energy efficient as possible. When designing for residential this makes me think of how I can make the home as comfortable as possible by decreasing the cost of energy, making it easier on both the environment as well as on the pocket of the client who will be living there. The most important ideas that I took away from the visit at the z-home was the wall insulation, and how that contributes a big part to the depleting energy costs.  It made me think of not just the interior design of the space, but how important the details of the structure that make that space are to the residents and designers as well. The most important aspects of human interaction with these spaces are how the residents are contributing to the energy costs. The natural light and recycled energy that the solar panels at the top of the units produce are big contributors to this as well as the humans that are partaking in the consumption of the energy. 

(From left to right: Left- the wall insulation for the z-homes, Middle- stairs leading up to the loft in the home, Right- a section of the kitchen design)