In today's world there is an ever increasing focus on reducing energy related cost. This 2 story Spanish Villa has approx. 3,624 sq ft heated and cooled living space, a two car oversized garage, a pool and spa and a 560sq ft under roof lanai. Although the majority of the house was constructed with typical building materials available locally, we went above and beyond norm to create a home that is not only rich with luxurious amenities; but also green friendly.

The first goal of building this stunning Spanish inspired contemporary villa was to build a highly energy efficient residential home using green building materials. The insulation of the attic as well as the insulation of the 2nd story frame walls was done by applying spray on insulation. All block walls are double insulated, first by filling the hollow concrete blocks with an insulating water based foam then by adding alumium foil on the inside of all outside walls as a radiant heat barrier.

Additional features of this green friendly house are : all exterior windows and doors are not only impact resistant but also air tight. So, no outside air can penetrate into the house and vice versa. In order to enhance living quality and remove used air we designed a system to pressurize the house by taking in fresh air through the A/C; heating/cooling it and blowing it into the house.

All rooms have 9 1/2' ceilings and crown molding; they are wired for TV connections and ethernet data cable. A central vacuum system enhances living quality. The light fixtures support bulbs which are all high energy efficient fluorescent bulbs. As there are about 50 recessed lights this also reduces the energy bill. And, as they live much longer than incandescent light bulbs it also reduces waste. But, they produce the same light as conventional bulbs.

On the aesthetic side, upper end homes are typically adorned with high end wood floors like mahogany or brazilin cherry. These are made from our rapidly diminishing, slow growing rain forest trees. These species are protected in some countries and should not be used for flooring on the other hand owners want beautiful flooring. The wood flooring of this Villa is made out of Lyptus™ from Weyerhaeuser . It is a "man made" wood, a crossing of two different eucalyptus trees which only grows in plantations and grows to cut size in 15 years or less. It is very hard, has a beautiful coloring and strikingly resembles the endangered species mentioned above. Therefore, you can have the luxury without the guilt!

One final vital detail of this house (as stands in a hurricane prone state) we took great care to enable a family to be safe and comfortable; even through a hurricane. From installing the impact resistant windows - which need no boarding up - meeting and exceeding the Florida building code, to insisting on living quality by including a 15kW automatic generator backup running on natural gas which powers the main functions of the house including heating and cooling - NO POWER OUTAGES!