Seattle Home Takes On Green Living
FiveDot Design Build Pushes Sustainable To New Heights with The Orchard

For over a year, residents in the North Green Lake area of Seattle have watched and waited as an architectural landmark moved into the neighborhood, turning heads with its distinctive angles, self-assured poise and curious concrete tanks. Visually reminiscent of carefully stacked boxes wrapped in natural wood and aluminum detailing, a modern home steadily grew into its natural surroundings and rapt the attention of passers-by. Now complete and on the market for $1.2 million, The Orchard (named for the mature fruit trees throughout the back yard) is proving to be worthy of the anticipation.

But behind the eye-catching aesthetic, this 3,300 square foot, 4 bedroom house has a calling beyond beauty and accolade. The Orchard is out to save the planet—or at least do its part.

The vision of Seattle firm FiveDot Design Build, The Orchard was painstakingly designed to limit environmental impact in its construction and reduce pressure on limited resources in the coming years. It can be a complicated and sometimes costly balance for a builder to achieve, but the team at FiveDot had a powerful advantage outside their talent and experience; passionate conviction for the environment.

Seattle leads the U.S. in Green-certified homes and properties generally earn a “Green” badge through the use of additional insulation, double paned windows and low-energy appliances. To elevate The Orchard to the next level of eco-sensitive construction, FiveDot examined each step of the process from conception to completion. The team designed a spacious and open floor plan that capitalizes on natural light and air flow. They sought out renewable building materials, utilized local craftsman, reclaimed fixtures from area institutions and incorporated systems to decrease water and fossil fuel consumption.

The result is a modern home with clean lines and a clean conscious.

Every room in The Orchard promotes the advancement of sustainability in high quality construction. The heated concrete floors throughout the main level are a straight-forward example. The concrete itself is comprised of 15% fly ash, an additive comprised of captured particles of ash and dust from burnt fuels such as coal. Fly ash makes the concrete stronger and reduces waste in landfills. Beneath the concrete a mix of water and the chemical Glycol winds its way in tubing. A high-efficiency gas boiler heats the liquid which transfers the heat into the concrete and warms the house. The Glycol helps the water to heat faster and retain heat longer, reducing the energy used to keep the house at a comfortable temperature. Finally, the floors are finished with a low VOC (volatile organic compound) polish that protects the surface, creates a lustrous shine and, because it is low VOC, reduces harmful gases in the home.

And those curious concrete tanks that puzzled the neighbors? They store rainwater collected from the roof so that it can be filtered and pulled into the house for use in the toilets and washing machines. In fact, all of the storm water is captured and recycled on the property in one form or another, reducing the impact on drains systems and keeping the landscaping hydrated. The tanks themselves provide privacy and diminish street noise on the property and support the modern tenor as a bold sculpture in the front courtyard.

This is the level of planning and detail that permeates this home.

But it is the clean lines, beautiful materials and gracious flow that impress visitors the most. It is welcoming and grand in one gesture, in harmony with its eco-mandate and its necessary livability. So Seattle has a new showpiece to buttress its claim as the nation’s greenest city and the small team at FiveDot Design Build is ready to take on the next project, challenging themselves and the industry to push the bar even higher.