ZDS Architects Blog

Palm Springs Life Magazine – ‘Bionic Houses’

Admin — Mon, 03 May 2010 07:42:12 +0000

Photo by David Blank

An eco-friendly, modern ranch designed by ZDS Architects (Interiors - Henderson Kelly) is currently being featured in the May 2010 issue of Palm Springs Life Magazine.

Parc Vista Residences – Bellevue, WA

Admin — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 07:31:14 +0000

Suzanne Zahr Fleming, Principal of ZDS Architects, is enrolled in University of Washington's Commercial Real Estate Certificate Program. As part of the curriculum, Suzanne recently teamed up with four of her classmates to select a site and pitch a development project to an equity panel. The design of Parc Vista Residences is a result of extensive market analysis, regulatory content review, construction pricing, financial analysis and risk management. The unit mix consists of Townhomes, Live/Work Lofts, Apartment Flats and Penthouse Lofts.

To download a PDF of our final presentation click here.

6 Ways to Text Message Relief to Haiti – Mobile Giving

Admin — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 07:08:17 +0000

The Mobile Giving Foundation, headquartered in Bellevue, WA, has organized a powerful tool that allows charitable donations over the networks of US wireless carriers. Remarkably, in the first three days after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, more than $10M in pledges have been made using this modern method of philanthropy. If you haven't already, please consider making a contribution:

Charity	Keyword	Short Code	Donation
Yele Haiti, Founded by Wyclef Jean	Yele	501501	$5
Clinton Foundation Haiti Relief Fund	HAITI	20222	$10
International Medical Corps	HAITI	85944	$10
Internal Rescue Committee	HAITI	25383	$5
American Red Cross	HAITI	90999	$10
Salvation Army Upper Wisconsin	HAITI	52000	$10

Water : Ecoseptic & Rainwater Harvesting

Admin — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 01:46:19 +0000

ZDS Architects is committed to doing what we can to conserve, harvest and re-use water. In addition to exploring ways to do so for our clients, we're researching the conditions and possible strategies for our Green Development in Palm Springs, CA. Palm Springs receives 354 days of sunshine and less than 6 inches of rain annually. The aquifers are depleting at a rapid rate, and the area is experiencing the worst drought in the last 80 years. In the midst of this water crisis, 100 facilities are bottling water in California, quickly using their precious water supply.

We’ve moved! (Kerf casework adapts to new office space)

Suzanne Zahr Fleming — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 04:24:07 +0000

ZDS Architects have recently moved our office to a work loft in the Ravenna neighborhood of Seattle, WA. For our current contact info, please visit our website. Though we built out our previous Capitol Hill office with custom casework by Kerf Design, we were able to reconfigure their layout to adapt to the new space.

Living Building Challenge

Suzanne Zahr Fleming — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 23:02:51 +0000

A building, like a flower, is rooted in place. Yet, a flower has place-based solutions to meet all of its energy, water and resource needs and to maintain balance with its surroundings. So, imagine a building informed by its ecoregion’s characteristics, and that generates all of its own energy with renewable resources, captures and treats all of its water, and operates efficiently and for maximum beauty. Living Building Challenge is a program of the International Living Building Institute, which is affiliated with the Cascadia Region Green Building Council. There are currently more than 60 projects pursuing certification using Living Building Challenge, and several are already in their verification phase. There are sixteen prerequisites in the Living Building Challenge and they are organized into six categories, or “Petals”. For a building to be certified, all must be met. certification is based on actual performance instead of modeled outcomes. Projects must be fully operational for at least twelve consecutive months prior to certification. For example, documentation requirements include utility bills – not energy models.

Andreas Hills Development – Current Landscape Plan

Suzanne Zahr Fleming — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 00:04:27 +0000

ZDS Architects is proud to announce our collaboration with Atelier, PS, Landscape Architects, on the Andreas Hills Development, a modern, eco-friendly home in Palm Springs, CA. Though this is a continuous work in progress, check out the current Landscape Plan and Plant Palette for this desert home. Click here for a larger Landscape Plan.

Upon approaching the home, you pass along a series of offset garden walls. You enter through an Entry Gate while focusing on a Whiteleaf Manzanita. You are then drawn around a seat wall to the Main Entry Door, or can walk along a high garden wall directly to the Pool Terrace and raised Casita. This Plan also features a private 'Morning Terrace' off the Kitchen and 'Wash', or dry river bed, that serves as an infiltration swale capturing runoff from the roof planes. Though it doesn't rain often in Palm Springs, CA, when it rains it pours and flash floods can be real problem. Directing rainfall from all roof planes to the 'Wash' greatly minimizes the impact of such an occurrence.

Andreas Hills Development – Palm Springs, CA – UPDATE

Suzanne Zahr Fleming — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 01:25:44 +0000

ZDS has teamed up with a private investor to acquire property in Palm Springs, CA. We found a gorgeous 1/2 acre lot just off the Indian Canyon Golf Course, tucked between the Andreas Hills and the San Jacinto Mountains.

Our goal is to develop an eco-friendly (LEED-H), 2,000 SF home with an attached 2-car Garage, Pool and detached 400 SF Casita. Though we had originally explored a gable roofline option with a ridge skylight, we're now considering a split-rigde solution. This design is not only more cost effective, but also allows for the potential of very effective cross-ventilation from the glass pivot doors at the South up to the high clerestories facing North. Here's a sneak peak of our schematic design efforts...

Finding a green fit for a specialized healthcare practice

Suzanne Zahr Fleming — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 08:30:50 +0000

As our nation turns its focus towards healthcare reform, ZDS Architects team up with the Washington Wellness Institute in greening their forward-thinking medical office in Washington, DC. To learn more, check out the 'Green Column' of the July '09 issue of the Healthcare Design Magazine.

Palm Springs Regional Association of Realtors

Suzanne Zahr Fleming — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 20:10:56 +0000

During a recent visit to Palm Springs, CA, ZDS Architects gave a slideshow presentation to the Palm Springs Regional Association of Realtors on how 'going green' impacts the ever-changing Real Estate market. This presentation was followed by an Open House of our client's modern ranch home, targeting LEED-H, Silver, located within the Smoke Tree Ranch community.