Austin Way Magazine - GreenGale Publishing - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY CASEY DUNN THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT THE GREEN MOVEMENT IN AUSTIN REAL ESTATE IS BECOMING A TEMPLATE FOR THE REST OF THE NATION. BY MARY ANN AZEVEDO Austin architect Peter Pfeiffer doesn't just design green buildings; he lives and works in them. From his office at Barley & Pfeiffer (1800 W. 6th St., 512-476-8580; barleypfeiffer.com) to his residence in Central Austin, Pfeiffer treats his own properties as laboratories of sorts, testing features before recommending them to clients. "Everything we design for our cli- ents' homes was probably already built in something we own," he says. In 2001 Pfeiffer designed a 4,175-square-foot home on River Road for his family of six. The property cost nearly $940,000 to build and is today val- ued anywhere from $1.4 million to $1.8 million."The idea of my house was to make it use less energy by the nature of its design," he says. "We're trying to get people to think more deeply—beyond just gizmos." His home sits on a mid-size lot and was situated to take advantage of the prevailing breezes and good solar orientation in such a way as to maximize passive cooling in the summer and passive solar heat gain in the winter. An open central stair tower was included to help cool the home while providing its center with glare-free daylight. Other features include a ventilated radiant-barrier roof system, rigid foam wall and attic insulation, carefully sized roof overhangs, a sealed attic, hydronic heating, and a water-based air-conditioning system that uses the swim- ming pool as a heat sink. "Our average monthly utility bill has ranged from $125 to $175 per month," he says. "That's really low for a house that size with that many people—and also has a swimming pool." Pfeiffer is not alone in his commitment to green building in Austin. Years before the US Green Building Council (USGBC) even came into existence in 1993, Austin's leaders had paved the way with an innova- tive program, Austin Energy Star Homes, in an effort to prevent the city from needing to build more power plants. Pfeiffer played a role in the creation of that program. With that, the city Furman + Keil Architects designed this environmentally sustainable West Lake Hills home with deep overhangs to maximize shading, operable windows for natural ventilation, and regionally and sustainably sourced materials. CONTINUED ON PAGE 144 AUSTINWAY.COM 143 HAUTE PROPERTY