Kitchen & Bath Business - November/December 2019 - 76

Located in Los Angeles and built on a previously empty lot near a park, the case-study home
produces more energy than it consumes. It starts
with the use of electric energy, which allows for
taking advantage of potentially renewable resources, explained Pallrand. In California, the power
grid includes geothermal, wind and solar power.
While the CarbonShack house might pull energy
from the grid at night, its solar panels feed the grid
during the day. Knowing going all-electric would
mean giving up gas cooking, Pallrand opted for an
induction cooktop in the home.
In addition to including a whole-house fan, he
incorporated a heat-pump hot water heater and a
heat-pump heating and cooling system. More expensive on the front end, these choices save energy
and cost of utilities in the long term. Many additional eco-friendly features
were built into the home, such as thick insulation, home automation and
high-efficiency appliances.
"It was an open-ended investigation, said Pallrand. "All of the lessons we
learned really changed the way we approach design now."

LEFT & ABOVE Locally made
tile, an electric induction
cooktop and a countertop
of recycled paper are just a
few of the eco-friendly design
features of the kitchen.
BELOW Including a waterless

RECLAIMING & UPCYCLING

One practice that did not change was the designer's custom of reusing materials whenever possible. For the prototype house, he reclaimed Douglas fir
from the framing of an early 20th-century house, which was used to frame
the new-construction CarbonShack house. This eliminated both the CO2
that would have been released from the wood as it decomposed and the need
for new wood and the carbon cost that would have come with it. Leftover
pieces of the framing wood were then used to make cabinetry for multiple
rooms in the home.
"We have upcycled that material and continued the life of that framing for
another 100+ years," said Pallrand.
Other wood aspects of the house were reclaimed from existing structures. Philippine mahogany from pews in a Santa Monica chapel has
become a dining room table and kitchen island, carved with patterns in
keeping with the biophilic design of the house. A decommissioned redwood bridge in Northern California supplied the wood for the millwork
in the kitchen and master bathroom - bolt holes were left in the wood to
add character.
Working with his in-house team of skilled tradespeople and artisans,
Pallrand learned of a plaster technique, which uses straw for reinforcement,
so the material - which is typically considered waste - was used in the walls
and the plaster ventilation hood.
HOLISTIC DESIGN

With a desire to honor nature and keep the story of the case study house's
energy efficiency front and center, Pallrand - motivated by his wife - concentrated the design on the microscopic world. They asked how the story of
the home's construction could be continued visually once the walls went up,
and patterns of mold spores, mycelium and bacteria were the answer. These
intricate designs can be found throughout the home, constantly reminding
visitors of the important connection with nature.
"We think of nature as separate from us," said the designer. "The world is
not outside; nature is inside of us, and the decisions we make with our bodies
and our homes impact nature."
In the kitchen, the rich look of the wood cabinets and carved wood island is
complemented with a tile backsplash designed by Pallrand, inspired by nature

/ NOV.-DEC. 2019 / KBBONLINE.COM / The official publication of NKBA (NKBA.org) and KBIS (KBIS.com)

urinal in a bathroom offers
significant water savings.

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Kitchen & Bath Business - November/December 2019

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