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SEH Principal Architect Nancy Schultz, AIA, gives new meaning to the notion, “taking the job home with you.” That’s because her extensive experience and firm commitment to sustainable design has led her and her husband to build an eco-friendly home—soon to be the first newly constructed

Platinum certified home in Minnesota. The 2,500-sq. ft. lake home in Isabella, Minn., was designed and is currently being constructed according to the U.S. Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for homes guidelines at the LEED Platinum certification level.

“My husband and I had always planned to build a home in the Isabella area because we’re avid cross-country skiers, and it’s one of the most reliable locations for snow,” Schultz said. “And, knowing what I do about the importance and the benefits of environmentally friendly buildings, we quickly determined that becoming LEED Platinum certified was one of our primary goals of the project.”

The Platinum level, the most rigid of levels, means a home must achieve a minimum of 90 points with 131 points possible from eight different credit categories, with most of the emphasis on low energy consumption as well as water efficiency, minimal site impact, and environmentally preferable materials. For example, the use of very high efficiency fixtures and fittings to manage indoor water use will earn six points.

“When you design for sustainability, you focus on the entire process—from how the building components are made, transported, and installed to how they degrade over time,” Schultz said.

Schultz, who’s been in the architectural industry for nearly 25 years and with SEH for nearly all of those years, has wide-ranging experience in designing for sustainability.

“Our SEH Architectural Team consistently designs according to LEED standards, and we always encourage our clients that even if they choose not to go for the LEED certification, they can still incorporate environmentally friendly components within their facilities,” Schultz said. “It’s exciting and insightful being able to incorporate the components that I advocate for my clients’ buildings into my own home.”

A unique component surrounding Schultz’s sustainable home is due to the northern Isabella location, it will be the northern-most LEED Platinum home in North America.

“That was definitely not our goal, but I hope it starts a trend,” Schultz said. “We can all do something within our homes to help the environment.”

Schultz’s Isabella, Minn., home includes a “green” roof, 11,000 kwh yearly (540 sq. ft.) photovoltaic solar panels, industry’s best insulated windows (R12), and an experimental thermal storage system that stores heat collected from the 94 vacuum tube solar collectors located on the roof for use in the winter months. “We have designed the building to require zero fossil fuel energy to heat or operate the home. All the energy needed is being created by the sun,” Schultz said.

The home will be completed this upcoming winter. More detailed information about the project is located at www.isabellaecohome.blogspot.com