Portland, OR - New Energy Works Timberframers received the annual Green Builder Green Home of the Year, Best Craftsmanship award for The Vermont Street Project a sustainably designed and built timber frame home in Portland, Oregon. The home is featured in Green Builder Magazine’s December issue.

Inclusion in Green Builder Home of the Year Awards is a prestigious honor. Over 60 homes from across the nation were entered and evaluated by a panel of judges for the use of green materials, sensitivity to local sourcing, sustainability, mechanicals, efficiency, and innovative design. Green Builder judges commented about this year’s Best Craftsmanship winner saying, “This is a beautiful example of a timber frame; it’s cozy and well-built, and showcases a good use of reclaimed wood on the interior with wonderful attention to detail.”

Craftsmanship was key in this home. Cabinetry, doors, countertops, tables, stairs, and millwork were all hand crafted of various reclaimed wood species by NEWwoodworks fine woodworking group, while the kitchen’s stainless steel sink was hand formed by a local artist, and hand finished flooring was custom milled from reclaimed wood by Pioneer Millworks. Jonathan Orpin, President, New Energy Works Timber Framers explains, “The Vermont Street Project is a living example of greater sustainability in a design and craft intensive home. It is the result of decades of custom timber work and environmentally sensitive construction.”

Design and construction of the project was approached with the principle that a well built home stands on four tenants:

1: A long-lasting, thermally efficient structure

2: Advanced and efficient mechanical systems

3: Sustainable structural and finish materials

4: A plan tailored to the family’s needs and to carefully crafted, coherent detailing

Features include: a reclaimed Douglas fir timber frame; reclaimed elm and oak flooring; interior woodworking using reclaimed walnut (cabinets/interior doors); solid FSC wood framed windows; recycled redwood siding; antique barn siding; photovoltaic panels; solar hot water panels; rainwater collection system; Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs); recycled wood and cement form foundation blocks; natural plaster wall coverings; a high efficiency boiler, and more. The Vermont Street Project was also awarded Fine Home Building’s Home of the Year, 2011 and Forest Stewardship Council Design + Build, first place. The Vermont Street Project is currently seeking LEED H Platinum certification.

Partners who collaborated on this project: Pioneer Millworks, Basco Appliance, Chown Hardware, Custom-Bilt Metals, Dimensional Millwork, Inc., ecohaus, Evolution Floors, GLD DesignStudio, Imaginenergy, Landscape East & West, Loren Nelson Photography, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, Traditional Natural Plaster Company, Premier Building Systems, and Shelter Works.

New Energy Works Timberframers have been designing and building environmentally responsible timber frames across the USA for nearly 30 years from their facilities in New York and Oregon. Offerings include: Timber Framing (design, engineering, manufacturing, build), Enclosure Systems, Fine Woodworking, Recycled and Sustainable wood products. New Energy Works has 2 LEED AP staff members, is a member of the US Green Building Council.