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Collection by Erika Heet

(Nearly) Net-Zero Homes

Hay insulation, passive solar, drought-tolerant gardens: Behold the following 7 houses from Dwell's pages that give back by striving for net-zero status.

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Designed by architecture firm Arkin Tilt, Bernie Tershy and Erika Zavaleta’s 2,500-square-foot straw-bale home marries cutting-edge green technology with natural building techniques and locally sourced materials.
Designed by architecture firm Arkin Tilt, Bernie Tershy and Erika Zavaleta’s 2,500-square-foot straw-bale home marries cutting-edge green technology with natural building techniques and locally sourced materials.
The entire house is made from slabs of prefabricated, formaldehyde-free compressed straw.
The entire house is made from slabs of prefabricated, formaldehyde-free compressed straw.
In Boulder's aptly named Wonderland Hill neighborhood, deer and even mountain lions occasionally come down from the woods to scout the domestic scene, but the most common wildlife sighting on the tree-lined streets is a profusion of toddlers in off-road strollers. To make space for the local baby boom, many older one-story homes have had their pops topped. When Rob Pyatt and Heather Kahn were ready to expand on their 900 square feet, however, their foundation couldn't support a second floor, so Pyatt, an architecture student with a green building background, devised an alternative. His box-shaped addition is the modern kid on the block, with distinctive corrugated-metal and wide-plank cladding. Behind the facade, uncommon materials share a common story with the neighborhood: Of design decisions driven by a desire to keep the next generation—and the planet—healthy and safe.
In Boulder's aptly named Wonderland Hill neighborhood, deer and even mountain lions occasionally come down from the woods to scout the domestic scene, but the most common wildlife sighting on the tree-lined streets is a profusion of toddlers in off-road strollers. To make space for the local baby boom, many older one-story homes have had their pops topped. When Rob Pyatt and Heather Kahn were ready to expand on their 900 square feet, however, their foundation couldn't support a second floor, so Pyatt, an architecture student with a green building background, devised an alternative. His box-shaped addition is the modern kid on the block, with distinctive corrugated-metal and wide-plank cladding. Behind the facade, uncommon materials share a common story with the neighborhood: Of design decisions driven by a desire to keep the next generation—and the planet—healthy and safe.
While the slate-clad northern facade has few windows and a steeply pitched roof, the southern facade is dominated by glass with the solar-panel-clad roof strategically angled to catch the sun.
While the slate-clad northern facade has few windows and a steeply pitched roof, the southern facade is dominated by glass with the solar-panel-clad roof strategically angled to catch the sun.
Arranged and slotted together like a tidy row of Legos, the IJsselstein housing project reflects typical Dutch efficiency, “not just in terms of materials used,” notes architect Gregory Kiss, “but in terms of space as well.”
Arranged and slotted together like a tidy row of Legos, the IJsselstein housing project reflects typical Dutch efficiency, “not just in terms of materials used,” notes architect Gregory Kiss, “but in terms of space as well.”
Components for low-cost prefab homes designed by Habitat for Humanity and the firm Minarc for South Central Los Angeles were trucked in and assembled over three days. Photos by Art Gray.
Components for low-cost prefab homes designed by Habitat for Humanity and the firm Minarc for South Central Los Angeles were trucked in and assembled over three days. Photos by Art Gray.