Houston’s green architect LaVerne Williams
gets LEED Silver Certification with the
first certified green home in the Texas Hill Country.
By Donna Mosher
 Hunt, Texas will never be the same! It is now the locale of the first
certified green home in the Texas Hill Country. The home was designed
by LaVerne Williams, of Environment Associates, for homeowners
Bernadell Larson and Stu Thompson and built by Sierra Homes of
Fredericksburg. The LEED recognition honors the homeowners’
commitment to build a green home that would cost less to own and
operate, would last for generations, and that reflects their dedication
to environmental sustainability.
“We want the home to be the last one we ever have to build,” said
Larson, “and to be as affordable and maintenance-free as possible as
time goes on.”
 “This home is designed for passive sustainability,” said Williams.
“If necessary, the homeowners can live in relative comfort without
any off-site sources of power or water. With the rising cost of energy
and increasingly scarce resources, more clients are seeking our ability
to design homes that provide livable conditions in spite of future
environmental events and basic essentials supply challenges. Designing
a home for ‘passive sustainability’ requires an expert’s use of materials
and the integration of proven architectural techniques in an aesthetic
manner, which my firm has been perfecting for more than three decades
of green home design.”
A 20,000-gallon rainwater harvesting system provides the sole
source of water for the home and the separate guest quarters. The
standing-seam metal roof will last a minimum of 50 years and doesn’t
contribute pollutants to the rainwater collected on it, as would an asphalt
or composition roof. Natural ventilation and daylight increase
the passive sustainability features of the house.
Larson and Thompson named their home “Sky Fire at North Fork” for its view of magnificent sunsets on
the north fork of the Guadalupe River.
Maximizing the views while maintaining
passive sustainability features
presented a challenge for architect
Williams.
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