Making waves in Waynesville: imaginative elements shine in this green home.

Buffy Queen was on a mission. She knew she wanted a sustainable home that would reflect her heart and soul, blend in with the surroundings, and be a place that nurtured both her and her daughter. She wanted the house to incorporate a variety of energy-efficient design principles and sustainable building practices. And she wanted a roof shaped like waves.

"My architect took my desire for a curved roof, which would reflect the mountains surrounding the house, and translated it into an imaginative roof line that works beautifully with the entire house. With this house design, I wanted to pay homage to the lovely red barns with tin roofs found throughout the Jonathan's Creek area, and I think we pulled it off."

Says architect Mitchel Sorin, "We both shared an interest in sustainable design, but beyond that, we both approached design from a similar fundamental belief: that you can create a home and an environment that supports and nurtures the physical, emotional, and spiritual and sustains the human spirit."

"I was determined to use any and all local building material we could find," Buffy said, so when we began discussing the "pillars" that would hold up the deck, I knew right away where they would come from ... the abundant locust trees that grow in a small forest down the hill from the house. Knowing that locust lumber is some of the strongest and most enduring, as my grandfather always said, and all his fence posts were made of locust, it felt wonderful to use what Mother Nature had provided, and literally in our front yard."

Some spirit-lifting aspects of the house are the second-floor solarium with its tiled floor, perfect for star-gazing, and the interior paint color, which was added directly into the plaster finish to provide integral color throughout the plaster, giving the walls a natural look. Another unique and comfort-enhancing aspect is the radiant floor heat on the second floor, achieved by installing the heating pipe between the floor framing. As for the roof, its unique curves were created using pre-engineer wood trusses. The result is a dream come true for Buffy, and for her designer/builder team. Says Sorin, "The entire process from design through construction was an exercise in maintaining our spirit--in what we discussed in terms of design and how we each treated each other through the process. In essence, the design of this house for me was simply a vehicle for expressing all those things we all thought were important in our lives: improving the physical environment, creating sustainable places. and maintaining our emotional and spiritual well-being."

Where: Waynesville, North Carolina (Haywood Country)

Designer: Mitchel Sorin, Sorin Architecture, PLLC Asheville, NC

Builder: Danny Richards Stone Mountain Builders Black Mountain, NC

Price Tag: approx $440,000 (overall construction cost of approx $137/per SF including radiant floor heating but not including photovoltaic power system)

Square Feet: approx. 3200 SF heated

Construction Type: Concrete slab on grade with rigid insulation and in-slab hydronic radiant floor heating system. Aerated autoclaved concrete block units with reinforcing steel exterior stucco.

Top Green Points:

Credentials: Very energy efficient home built with minimal impact

Efficiency: Concrete slab on-grade thermal mass with radiant floor heating system, energy efficient exterior wall material (ten inch aerated autoclaved concrete block units R-30 insulating value) passive solar design, natural cross ventilation with convection cooling through house, reflective radiant barrier installed in roof, high efficiency hot water boiler for radiant floor system and domestic water, photovotaic power system, energy efficient lighting sources

Low Toxicity: Non-toxic stains, low VOC paints, bamboo flooring

Environmental: Minimal site disturbance, recycled wood products, site-harvested wood columns