Columbia City’s neighborhood blog, Columbia City Source, recently featured a video highlighting the ongoing work the Dwell Development is doing in the neighborhood, building energy efficient and affordable homes. We’ve featured Dwell’s work on passivhaus before and highlighted their unique approach to building housing. Dwell is partnering with the Seattle Housing Authority. Here’s more background on the video and their work in the Rainier Valley:

Dwell Development LLC, the award-winning design/build firm focused on building modern sustainable homes, is pleased to introduce the Columbia City Story: a sustainable micro-community in Columbia City’s Rainier Vista consisting of 42 homes with individual blue prints to make each home unique. The project began as a partnership with the Seattle Housing Authority and a commitment from Dwell Development to build 15 homes but due to the excitement and demand generated by the project, the Dwell Development team signed on for an additional 36 homes.

The philosophy of the project was to create a community within the bustling Columbia City neighborhood that brings together like-minded individuals who value community, sustainability and modern design. Each block of homes has a communal courtyard to encourage neighborly connections and a community garden to promote sustainable living practices such as growing organic vegetables. “It is actually a tour de force so to speak, where everyone can really enjoy living together, sharing habitat together and growing together,” says Anthony Maschmedt, owner of Dwell Development.

This project embodies Dwell Development’s ultimate goal of building beautifully designed net-zero homes that preserve the health of its inhabitants and the planet. The Rainier Vista community includes Dwell Development’s first Passive House – a voluntary standard for ultra-low energy buildings designed for comfort and efficiency. Passive House construction is centered on airtight spaces that reduce heating and cooling needs by incorporating extra insulation, high-performance windows, smart home technology and details in the design to support solar gains. Every home was designed with efficiency in mind; such as perfectly angled roofs to accommodate solar panels so the entire community is solar-ready.