Homebuilding has come a long way since the first stone beehive huts were built in County Kerry, Ireland, but some of the practices never become obsolete, like using local materials to create small intimate communites where neighbors can work together.

A stone house hundreds of years old can be made more comfortable with the addition of insulation, dual-glazed vinyl windows, and modern insulation.

A small cottage in Santa Cruz continues with an added story-and-a-half as a family home into the twenty-first century with the latest in energy-efficient heating technology and drought-tolerant landscaping.

David Hirzel Building Design is proud to be an early supporter and participant in Built It Green's sophisticated Green Point Building Design programs.