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 Robert Lord sets pace for 'green' home building
Local custom home builder receives award in California
By J. E. Kuyper
ST. CHARLES – Robert Lord was named a 2007 Pacesetter Award winner in the innovation category by Custom Home magazine.
Lord is president of Robert Lord Builders of St. Charles.
He received the award in front of industry peers in June at the Four Seasons Aviara Resort in Carlsbad, Calif.
Lord is one of 17 Pacesetter winners featured in Custom Home’s July/August 2007 issue, now on newsstands.
“Through excellence in marketing, business management, design, production management, community service or innovation, the 17 custom builders receiving this year’s awards set the standard for performance in their industry,” magazine editor Leslie Ensor said.
“The Pacesetter winners are among the best in the business, and we are proud to tell their stories to the 40,000 custom home professionals who read the magazine.”
Lord earned the accolade for his green building innovations, as exemplified in a custom home he is building at Red Oaks, a single- family home community in St. Charles.
His inventory home is considered by peers as among the most environmentally friendly homes ever constructed in the Chicago area. Green systems and products being incorporated into the home include the following.
• An underground geothermal heating and cooling system that provides a renewable fuel source to maximize energy efficiency by using the earth’s temperature, eliminating the need for natural gas-fueled heat.
• DuPont’s Tyvek ThermaWrap and AtticWrap, a low-E building envelope used throughout the house, which is a first in the nation, that manages radiant heat in the roof and walls, thus dramatically reducing energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions.
• Closed-cell foam insulation, a spray-applied polyurethane foam that surrounds the home’s building shell in a single blanket of air-tight insulation.
• Low-E, ultra-efficient ClimaGuard windows by Hurd, installed throughout the home, that block 99.9 percent of ultraviolet rays.
• A hybrid septic system that uses an aerobic digester in tandem with a raised sand filter to cut the size of the septic field by half and save several trees in the process.
• Whole house Energy Star certification, environmentally sensitive plumbing fixtures and green flooring materials.
“The home at Red Oaks is being recognized for its forward-thinking, and it takes energy-efficient, green homebuilding to a whole new level,” Lord said.
“We believe people will be talking about this home years from now. They will say this residence is where green building began in Chicago. In fact, we were flattered when we discovered several members of one of the nation’s largest home building companies touring our job site. Being honored with Custom Home’s Pacesetter Award for innovation means we are setting the benchmark for the state of Illinois and the nation.”
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