The Nashville-based designer sat down with NKBA to talk about his latest innovative design, as well as the practical advantages of going green for clients.

By Seth Ellison

 Known for using natural light, clean lines, efficient space and “outside-the-box” concepts, architectural designer and consultant Adam Gibson specializes in everything from luxury homes to commercial suites, always with sustainable building practices in mind. 

A wearer of many hats, Gibson is a Certified Master Kitchen and Bath Designer, Certified Living-in-Place Professional and Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist — not to mention musician, professional photographer and former general contractor. He established his award-winning design firm in 1995, Adam Gibson Design, LLC, which emphasizes the importance of thoughtful and creative design for everyday living and working.  

Recently, Adam was given a chance to design a beautifully unique pool house, “Backyard House,” with the goals of using sustainable materials and creating a design that was aligned with nature, had a sleek, modern aesthetic and offered the convenience of practical utility.  

To help us take a deeper dive into what it means to be a sustainable designer today, Adam sat down with us to talk about his creative approach, his clients’ expectations when going green and his favorite eco-friendly design trends.   

When you first started planning the Backyard House project, what sustainable considerations were most important to you? 

Indiana celebrates all four seasons with gusto. Before this structure was built, the view from the main house to the forest was unobstructed. With the new building surrounded by nature, we wanted to maintain that feeling without restricting the view. Aside from using as many earth-friendly materials as possible, we specified locally-sourced materials. For example, the stone for the columns was quarried in Indiana, and the faux stone in the kitchen area is a new type of lightweight panelized concrete system called ClifRock, formed just a few miles away and finished onsite. 

What are the different eco-friendly elements included in the Backyard House? How do they work?

It was essential to match the main house’s aesthetic (which we designed and built in 2010), so we borrowed elements from the roof pitches, columns and siding to form its mass. The glassless “window” allows excellent cross ventilation, and using stone and cement, including on the ceiling, provides protection from the elements. 

Despite the open-air concept, we thought the space needed strong mechanical ventilation since there could be high-smoke foods cooking simultaneously on multiple surfaces, so the six-foot-long, 2,300 CFM exhaust hood not only solves that problem, it prevents ceiling discoloration and adds significant task lighting. 

Speaking of lights, that’s one of our passions, including an infusion of natural light. Two huge skylights were placed in the middle of the cooking/eating area, so only at night is there a need for electric light, of which there are plenty of high-efficiency fixtures.

There’s also an outdoor shower in the rear of the building, a dedicated sauna room, a half-bath, a storage room and a water fountain with a bottle filler.

The focus on nature isn‘t just on the Backyard House being green – it‘s also about loving the beauty of nature. Can you tell us a little more about the nature-driven aesthetic?

Since the new building would block the forest view from the main house, the client requested a glassless “window” that would have the same length as the open space. The areas in front of the building are dedicated to the large pool and play yard, but the sides and back are wooded. There’s a beautiful fire pit, and the outdoor shower is under a leafy canopy, so showering under the trees and stars is a delight. 

Do your clients come to you for more sustainable solutions and/or how do you guide them through the process?

We refer to sustainable practices and materials during the schematic design phase. We are known for being “green” and for thinking outside the box — and we are not afraid to implement new technologies. Many clients don’t come to us because of that, but they universally embrace sustainable solutions when they realize it often doesn’t affect the bottom line and does support the planet.

For example, let’s take a client’s fear of technical obsolescence. We explain that we can future-proof their home by adding inexpensive conduits so gadgets can be added without tearing up walls and floors. Or that paint, flooring, cabinetry and other common off-gassing materials can be substituted with zero or low-VOC materials. They literally breathe a sigh of relief.

What do you think needs more sustainable solutions in design right now? And are there trends and/or new innovations that you’re excited about? 

Kitchen and bath innovations, such as Sepura’s garbage disposal system, which won the top 2023 Kickstarter award at KBIS this year, are promising. Or 2022’s Kickstarter winner shower water recycling system, RainStick. The opportunity is ripe for more zero-VOC flooring and cabinetry products. We are consistently surprised at how few companies change their sourcing. And it’s simply because indoor air quality is not heavily publicized enough. If it were, the demand would increase. And then there’s the Plum wine dispenser, which, while most people acknowledge that every drop counts and wine should be preserved at the perfect temperature without air spoiling an opened bottle, it’s a useless feature in certain households that would never leave liquid in the bottle. Not that we know anyone like that.