Oakland’s Stunning LEED Platinum Margarido House
by Bridgette Steffen
Mike McDonald and his wife Dr. Jill Martenson decided to build their home on a steep lot ravaged by a fire in the Oakland hills back in 1991. The 4600 sq ft Margarido House is by no means a small home, but with the addition of a plethora of green building features it will become the first LEED-H Platinum certified home in Northern California. It will also be GreenPoint rated, which is a separate third party rating system administered by Build It Green. The Margarido House will feature almost every green strategy you can imagine and will be 55% more efficient than California’s Title 24 energy standards.
The house is both beautiful and very functional, making brilliant use of outside light and solar power. Its construction incorporates a variety of sustainable and fire resistant materials, and all of its poured concrete contains 25% fly ash. The interiors feature LED lighting, smart house automation, locally sourced products, and recycled concrete and glass countertops. A planted roof garden and deck top off the project, and the house is site-sensitve, featuring permeable paving, rain and ground water reclamation, and drought tolerant landscaping and plants.
All of these strategies and more add up to the Margarido Residence’s LEED Platinum certification. But what is even more interesting is that McDonald and his team actually lost points in the LEED rating system for having such a large house to begin with.
McDonald’s mantra for his home was “green can be beautiful and sexy,”and this is clearly seen in the design of the house. Whether or not you can agree with the size of the home, they built it as green as they could and in an urban infill lot. To be certified as LEED Platinum you need 102 points. The Margarido House has 118.
Photo Credit: Melissa Kaseman, Mike McDonald, McNichols, Paul Ivey
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IT’S BEAUTIFUL, BUT EVEN WITH ALL THE ENERGY SAVINGS AND OTHER “GREEN” FEATURES, WHY ARE WE STILL CALLING A 4600SF SINGLE FAMILY HOUSE “SUSTAINABLE”? IF EVERYONE ON THE PLANET LIVED IN A HOUSE LIKE THIS, … WELL, YOU CAN’T HAVE EVERYONE LIVING IN A HOUSE LIKE THIS. SO WHAT’S SUSTAINABLE ABOUT THIS KIND OF LIFESTYLE?