What We Love

Our homes can be as green as our gardens

What’s in the greenest house in the city? Under the floor of 520 Clipper, a solar-powered “warm board” provides heat to the whole house. In the kitchen, there’s an attractive counter of Richlite created from compressed and treated recycled paper. On the roof, a catchment system recycles rainwater, which gets stored to supply running water.

San Francisco home builders who want to walk the walk in terms of environmental responsibility call up Noe Valley’s Lorax Development, the brains behind the Clipper Street home. The mission of the company (which is named after the protagonist of a Dr. Seuss book) is to create “responsible homes with renewable materials, energy-efficient systems, and smart technologies.” They left out that its houses are attractive, too. Lorax used century-old Southeast Asian railroad ties for the floors, created decks with views sweeping from downtown to the North and East Bay, and even included a custom wine cellar. Green is really a beautiful thing. www.loraxdevelopment.com.