CharlesN

I'm building a heavy green home in Crystal Beach down on the Bolivar Peninsula near Galveston. I've talked to two proudly green architects. BNIM Architects does mostly commercial but they were willing to do my house (approx 2800 sq ft-not huge). Filippo Castore is the guy I met with (713-528-4545). These guys were sharp and Filippo already knows a lot about photovoltaics, wind generation, etc. The price is high, but they apparently stay with the project all the way through completion, including finding contractors, etc. One great thing about BNIM is that they already have LEED certification down, if you're interested. I also talked to a girl (woman?) named Donna Kacmar. She's younger, but also sharp. (281-546-5890) I've talked to a few other architects who professed a love for green design but I don't want someone learning about the requirements of green building on my job. I'll let them past the learning curve on someone else's house. I also wonder how many of these architects are truly going to put in the hours off the clock to study up on the requirements of green building. Geothermal cooling, wind generators, cisterns, different types of HVAC systems, photovoltaics - all this stuff gets complicated! The man who is "Da Man" in Houston for green building and has been for like twenty years is Laverne Williams (713-528-0000). I've only spoken to him on the phone. He's backlogged for six months, and I want to start building in less than that. Just to let you know, I've found prices for architects offering a verying range of services from $6.50/sq ft. to just over $50,000 (flat rate price). I'm not a builder or a professional in the industry, but I'm studying up on green building and I'm going to the West Coast Green conference at the end of the month. If I might be able to help you out in any way, call me. 832-867-8373