Someone Like You

Chapter 20 - House Porn

I didn't know where we were going, so Andy drove my Subaru, since we wouldn't all fit in his truck. We headed north along 13th East, into the Avenues, which was Salt Lake City's first planned neighborhood, nestled along the foothills of the North East Bench of the Wasatch Mountains. 

Many of the homes in the Avenues were built between the 1880s and 1920s and had long been popular with young professionals. Since most of the houses were older, new construction was rare, but many of the old Victorian homes in the Avenues cost a million or more dollars owing to extensive remodeling.

Occasionally there were neglected properties tucked in among the nicer houses, but these were rapidly plucked up by enterprising young home owners and either remodeled or flipped for a quick profit. Andy drove down a shaded street, stopping in front of a rare example of new construction. The lawn was terraced and had been xeroscaped with desert plants, rocks and a thin swatch of grass. The house itself was somewhat squat, also terraced to an extent with a bilevel flat roof. The exterior walls seemed to be made of different materials, wood, stone and stucco and the external lighting was tastefully done. There appeared to be a large group of people in the house, some coming, some going.

As we got out of the car, I turned to Andy, "what is this?" I asked, looking also to Zack and Michael for answers.

"This, Jen" he said, pointing to the house, "is what I do for a living."

"You go to house parties in the Avenues?" I asked, perplexed.

Zack looked at me like I couldn't possibly have matriculated in medical school.

"Uh, no. I design environmentally friendly residential homes and remodels, one of which you are about to visit."

I looked at the house, then looked at him, then looked back at the house. "You designed this??!" I said incredulously.

"I contributed to the design, yes. The firm that I joined here in Salt Lake City hired me after consulting me for this project. Today we'll be visiting five highly efficient homes in Salt Lake which my firm designed or were consulted for in their remodels. This is the only one I contributed to though." He looked slightly shy, but also proud. I smiled hugely, and he reflected this, grinning slightly as we walked up the front steps.

The interior was very modern, with crisp, clean lines; it reminded me of a Crate & Barrel commercial. As we walked through the house, Andy talked about the various structural, architectural and design elements which had contributed to its being certified as a passive home. This, he explained, meant that renewable energy employed in the house (solar panels on the roof, and in some instances geothermal heating) could supply all of the energy to heat the house in the winter and cool it in the summer.

Part of the design of this house employed a so-called thermal envelope which provided superior insulation to the entire home. Although not a new concept, Andy's insulation design employed new materials, making the thermal envelope more green and energy efficient. The way he described it he was an architect for the nuts and bolts of a house, but didn't really contribute much in the way of what you saw, as all of his work was hidden behind beams and drywall.

Walking through the home, I was struck by how Spartan everything was. I had grown up in a house of chaos, but this place looked like a museum. I was curious to see what Andy thought of the interior design and so I asked him.

"Not really my thing, actually. It's a bit too... angular for my taste. I do like the open concept though, and wait until you see the back patio, it's killer."

We walked out to the back and it was, indeed, killer. There were several chairs around a fire pit and a large patio, perfect for garden parties and entertaining. "It's a beautiful house, Andy, you must be very proud." I slipped my arm into his and looked up at him, he was smiling like a kid in a candy store.