Accessible LEED Residence

Newton, MA

A family with a disabled daughter and a strong commitment to sustainable living engaged LDa to design a new home in their suburban Boston neighborhood. The couple desired a bright, open home that would be highly resource-efficient and intimately connected to the landscape and neighborhood, while giving their daughter the freedom to move independently throughout the main indoor and outdoor living spaces. An accessible path of travel (with zero-step transitions, wide passages, and an elevator) connects the home’s three main levels, each of which offers a universally-designed bathroom.

A full-height, open-riser stair crowned with operable skylights brings natural light into the core of the home while facilitating passive ventilation. Materials, finishes, and furnishings were chosen to create a modern, colorful aesthetic for this active young family. The project has earned a LEED Silver certification as part of the LEED for Homes program. Sustainable features include a super efficient framing system, spray foam & cellulose insulation, low-E windows, infrastructure for future PV array, superior daylighting, excellent natural ventilation, numerous indoor air quality measures, and drought/flood resistant landscaping. The home has a HERS Index of 50.