i + D - March/April 2020 - 52

Living by
Design
Green
Houses

A Living
Laboratory in LA
Price hasn't been the only deterrent to eco-friendly
home building. Sustainable options have been
available, but the public-fearing performance
issues-hasn't always been ready. "Today
designers and architects can experiment with and
implement sustainability without compromise,"
according to Dan Brunn, founder of Dan Brunn
Architecture in Los Angeles. "There's absolutely
no reason why anybody shouldn't be doing this.
You are not giving up anything. In my home we
have very low flow faucets, but I don't feel any
difference in using them," says Brunn, who is also
impressed by his new solar-powered induction
cooktop. "The technology that has come out is
really amazing."
Brunn opines that people need to experience
eco-friendly housing firsthand instead of just
picking up a magazine. For that reason, his private
LA residence Bridge House, which he completed
last fall, is a living laboratory. Brunn has partnered
with the American Institute of Architects (AIA)
on sold-out tours, but the Bridge House experience
isn't limited to interior design and architecture
aficionados. When BMW introduced a new
eco-friendly car, they also hosted an event at
Bridge House.

The exterior of the house is
constructed with a lesser grade
of cedar, comprised of remnants
that are usually rejected in the
construction process. "It's
eco-friendly-but it also gives
the home a more rustic appearance
and visual connection to nature,
which is really nice when you have
a house that's so rectilinear,"
says Brunn. (Image: Brandon Shigeta)

All the structural steel in Bridge
House is 89 percent recycled
content and is also recyclable.
By using a kit of parts, Brunn
eliminated cutting, welding,
and the unfortunate containers
of garbage that typically result
from framing. "Everything
was connected with rivets and
torque screws, and there was
no waste," he says.
(Image: Brandon Shigeta)

"It's important to get the word out about sustainable design and new things that can
be tried," says Brunn. He was inspired by the Case Study Houses, a series of Southern
California homes commissioned between the 1940s and 1960s by Arts & Architecture
magazine and designed by some of the most influential designers and architects of the
era, including Charles and Ray Eames, Richard Neutra, and Pierre Koenig. The residences
introduced new materials and new techniques in house construction.
"Back in the day, the notion was finding an unbuildable lot and then building something
on it," explains Brunn. Located on a problematic site that's 60 feet wide and 260 feet long,
Bridge House fits that profile. "Other architects or developers would have built a home in
the front of the 260-foot lot and had it facing the brook; instead we straddled the brook with
a bridge. This was to get people to start thinking outside the box," adds Brunn. "Bridge
House obliterates the idea of a front yard and a rear yard. Instead you have yards all the way
through the house, which is its big gesture to design."
The swimming pool is heated via photovoltaic panels, and an interior green wall filters the air
naturally. Brunn thinks green design should be able to sustain itself without the possibility
of human error. "You don't have to turn on a filter or set anything to get things working," he
says. "If your windows are facing north, you are automatically at a gain."

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i+D - March/April 2020



i + D - March/April 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of i + D - March/April 2020

Contents
i + D - March/April 2020 - Cover1
i + D - March/April 2020 - Cover2
i + D - March/April 2020 - 3
i + D - March/April 2020 - 4
i + D - March/April 2020 - 5
i + D - March/April 2020 - Contents
i + D - March/April 2020 - 7
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i + D - March/April 2020 - 12
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i + D - March/April 2020 - Cover3
i + D - March/April 2020 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/asid/asid/design_product_guide_2024_fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/asid/asid/design_product_guide_2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/asid/asid/design_product_guide_2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/id/20211112
https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/id/20210910
https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/id/20210708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/asid/design_product_guide_2021
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20210102
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20200910_french
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/asid/design_product_guide
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20200708
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20200102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20191112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20191112_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20190910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20190910_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20190708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20190708_french
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20190102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20190102_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20181112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20181112_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20180910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20180910_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20180708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20180708_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20180506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20180506_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20180304
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20180102_french
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/id/20180102
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com