Coeur d'Alene Architect

The synergies: Airtight envelope = ember-tight envelope. Most fire losses come from ember intrusion, not flame contact. The passive house minimum performance standard of ≤0.6 ACH50 envelope with no attic or crawlspace vents (unvented, conditioned assemblies) removes the single most co...

When we start a new residential project, one of the first things we ask is simple: who lives here? The answer almost always includes more than the people signing the contract. Over the years we've designed for households with dogs, cats, birds, and once, a very well-loved mouse. Each of those animal...

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." ~ Henry David Thoreau To function, even at the most basic level, we must be sel...

"When you make things well, it's an ethical thing." ~ Stanley Tigerman Instant gratification in architecture is highly over-rated. As an architect, being published and winning prestigious design awards is validating and gratifying, but this kind of recognition also tends to be fleeting, capric...

"If there is a beautiful view, do not spoil it by building huge windows that gape incessantly at it. Instead, put the windows which look onto the view at places of transition - along paths, in hallways, in entry ways, on stairs, between rooms. If the view window is correctly placed, people will se...

Celebrate your home or office with a well-designed entry sequence. Like the path into a great cathedral, every entrance and the route you take before and after can potentially create a rewarding experience of moving from one place to another.  Imbuing that transition with a powerful mem...