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AWARD-WINNING GREEN HOUSING DESIGNS
Ashland designer wins green building awards
Ashland Daily Tidings article By Kira Rubenthaler
David Fisse of Northwest Design is all about building green, and this summer he has won the awards to prove it.
Fisse received national recognition from the American Institute of Building Design at the American Residential Design Awards, presented July 11 in Portland. He won first place in the sustainable category for a house he built on Timberlake Drive in Ashland, and he took home another first place in the "Unbuilt design 2,500 square feet and under" category for a model he designed for a future eco-housing development in Medford.
"The green design is where you have to start," said Fisse, who has been designing homes in the Rogue Valley since 1981.
This involves considering aspects such as how close the house is to public transportation, how to build without cutting down trees, the geology of the land and the availability of sun for solar heating and power, he said.
"You're using a combo of design ideas of where to put a house with the least disturbance," he said. "It's a matter of placement."
Then it's time to take the supplies into account, aiming for nontoxic materials that are recycled or produced with as little carbon footprint as possible, he said. The materials available are always changing, he added.
"Even in the last seven years, in the last seven minutes, green is still evolving," he said. "From this year to the next, how green are you if you don't keep up?"
Fisse built the 960-square-foot house with balloon framing, a form of construction that uses less material and results in a sturdier structure, he said.
