Residential Sustainability: Smaller, Smarter, Built to Last
This guide collects ideas often discussed at the start of a project, aiming to make practical sustainability in residential architecture more accessible.
It is a resource for anyone interested in building smaller, smarter homes designed to remain relevant for generations.
It reframes sustainability as a mindset shaped by long-term thinking, people-centered design, and a strong connection to place.
It also encourages readers to question what they truly need in a home. Often, building less leads to more. More affordability, adaptability, and intentional choices about what matters.
Whether you’re a homeowner, architect, or builder, the goal is the same: make better early decisions that have the greatest impact, improve quality, and deliver lasting value.
The ideas here come from years of experience in architecture, interiors, and furniture, observing where sustainability succeeds and where it gets lost in trends or complexity. These are not fixed rules, but starting points. Practical principles to guide choices and challenge assumptions.
If this guide helps you think differently, plan more clearly, or build more thoughtfully, that’s its purpose. If it sparks conversation or inspires new ideas, even better.
That’s where great design begins.
“We have to shift our emphasis from economic efficiency and material growth to sustainable human happiness and well-being.”
