Sound View House

Sound View House is comfortably located within a shoreline community. Due to its hillside location, the occupants enjoy a panoramic view of Long Island Sound. Clean and understated finishes contribute to the subtle elegance of this family home.

Special Features

Tray ceiling, built-in cabinetry, and triple sliding doors in the living room.
Dumbwaiter serving the upper-floor sunroom and lower level from the kitchen on the main level.
Contemporary kitchen with European flush cabinetry, waterfall quartzite counters, and LED linear lighting integrated into the ceiling
Floating waterfall stairwell featuring large expanse of Kalwall glazing blocks that allow diffuse light to pass through but preserve privacy and insulate better than glass.
Primary bathroom features steam shower and windows that transition from clear to frosted at the push of a button.
Motorized interior shades with shade pockets that are integrated into the walls.
Indoor sauna and exercise room.

Green Building Approaches

Solar photovoltaic system with 40 panel array on the flat roof, not visible from the street due to the small parapet walls around the roof.
Negative 33 HERS score indicates that the house generates considerably more energy than it consumes for operating purposes. The extra energy will be used for charging electric cars.
52Kwh battery storage system for back-up power during outages.
Multiple sustainable cladding types, including reSAWN thermally modified siding, fiber-cement paneling, and Nakamoto Shou Sugi Ban charred poplar siding.
European triple-glazed doors and windows with 0.19 U-values.
Custom LED lighting with dimmable capabilities throughout.
An air-to-water heat pump provides domestic hot water.
Geothermal heat pump system for highly efficient space conditioning.
Independently-ducted European energy recovery ventilator for high-efficiency, continuous mechanical ventilation.
Insulation products selected to minimize home’s carbon footprint and to significantly exceed building code requirements.
Foundation walls are “Perfect Block” insulated concrete forms (10”) made from recycled expanded polystyrene foamboard.
Roof insulation features 6.5” cellulose and 3” closed-cell SPF between roof joists, plus 4-8” of expanded polystyrene foamboard above roof deck and under roof membrane.
Exterior double-wall system with 12” dense-pack cellulose insulation.
Expanded polystyrene foamboard (5.5”) under basement slab.