McKinley House by David Hertz

This residence, home to Hertz and his family, was designed in two phases. The first phase featured two separate volumes connected by a bridge. Some years later the adjacent lot became available. It is now a compound made up of four discrete two-story buildings linked by three enclosed bridges that all face onto the courtyard, in a style one might call Balinese Modern.

Hertz used this house as a case study for green building techniques. The materials used were chosen carefully to support environmental sustainability and the design intent. These include an array of 20 solar collector panels on the roof and recycled and FSC certified sustainable woods. Much of the concrete is Syndecrete®, which contains about 41 percent recycled content and is twice as light, with twice the compressive strength, of normal concrete.

The work of David Hertz Architects Inc FAIA, & S.E.A. Studio of Environmental Architecture focuses on the design and construction of environmentally responsible residential and commercial buildings, and engages in multiple facets of design, including product design, furniture design, public sculpture, environmental consulting, as well as the research and development of resource efficient ecologic building products.