SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainable building practice has always been a fundamental philosophical and operational component of Minardos Group. One of the firm’s early projects was a Green Demonstration home for the Eco Expo. The home was constructed of modular parts, enabling it to be assembled and disassembled for transportation to various expositions around the country. In addition, the home utilized Structurally Insulated Panels (SIPS), straw bale, a cooling tower, radiant heating, zero-VOC paints, and formaldehyde free paneling.

George Minardos was a founding member of the Construction Specification Institute’s Green Building program. Today, Minardos Group has LEED Accredited professionals on staff and promotes sustainable construction on all projects. All Minardos Group buildings use reclaimed or sustainably harvested lumber, energy efficient systems and appliances, as well as low- or zero-VOC paints and adhesives.

COMPLETED PROJECTS

TreePeople Center for Sustainable Forestry: This LEED Gold campus consists of an environmental learning center, a watershed demonstration garden, a sustainable conference center building designed by Marmol Radziner and Associates and a 250,000-gallon underground rainwater storage cistern.

Old Oak Lane Residence: Designed as a “healthy home,” sustainable features of this residence include in-floor radiant heating within an architectural finish concrete floor; use of reclaimed and sustainably harvested lumber; a 13,000-gallon underground cistern for rainwater collection; whole-house filtration systems for air and water; low- or zero- VOC paint and adhesive products; and solar pool heating.

Sunset Residence: This remodel and addition to a Sunset Park bungalow is constructed of recycled material such as concrete, lumber, glass, and fireplace bricks as well as natural products such as cork, exposed timbers and stone. Air quality is addressed by the use of low or zero VOC materials, including all paints and adhesives, and with HEPA filtration on the HVAC system. Natural ventilation and lighting are achieved with sliding doors and operable skylights. A rainwater collection system provides water to the gardens, and the Koi pond is treated non-chemically through bio-filter and UV filtration and aeration.

CHARITIES WE SUPPORT