IN ORDINARY SPEECH, the words “sustainable” and “beauty” hardly belong in the same sentence – as attributes go, beauty is probably the most fleeting.
For Jim Roth’s Oklahoma City home, however, the words “sustainable” and “beauty” took on an inspired context when the environment served as the focus for home construction and design.
The concept of a “green” house isn’t a new one, but few homeowners embrace the idea as completely as Jim did during the two years he and architect Jay Yowell (of JY Architecture) devoted to conceptualizing the space and its relationship to its surroundings. In this case, that encompasses more than eight densely forested acres, secluded within city limits.
The entire home relies on sustainable features for energy efficiency and environmentally friendly materials. This represents a larger investment during the construction phase, but the payoff – in reduced electric, water and septic consumption – is immediate. Jim estimates that his average electric bill for the 3,000-square-foot home is about $150.
“Building an energy-efficient home really represents a paradigm shift for Americans. The tradeoff is investing in the home’s infrastructure versus excessive square footage and high electric consumption,” he explains, acknowledging that many homeowners will opt not to do that because of their growing tendency to move from house to house, rather than putting down roots.
Excerpted from the fall 2013 edition of Design Oklahoma. To read the full article, click here to read our digital edition.
