GreenPoint Rated

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Case Study: Darling-Wright Residence

The first GreenPoint Rated historic home—a Greene and Greene house in Claremont—showcases how to improve a building’s environmental performance while protecting its architectural integrity.

“The GreenPoint Rating process, although challenging at times, we found the experience to be very rewarding and informative.” —Alan Brookman, project architect

Project Stats

Location:	Claremont, CA
GreenPoint rated score:	49 Elements
Year built:	1903
Original size:	2,940 square feet
New size:	3,962 square feet (including new garage and studio)
Project scope:	Energy-efficient retrofit (Green renovation) while preserving historic home’s architectural integrity. Addition of 3-car garage and study. Extensive interior renovation and exterior redesign of grounds.
Origional Architect:	Greene and Greene
Remodel Architect / Builder:	HartmanBaldwin Design/Build
GreenPoint Rater:	Charisse Dunn, Healing Spaces by Design

Greening a Greene and Greene House


	Front of house with project signage.

In 1903, architects Charles and Henry Greene were commissioned by Mary Reeve Darling to design a house in Claremont. It was their first commission outside Pasadena, and a significant turning point in the evolution of the Greene and Greene design aesthetic that would lead to the world-renowned Gamble and Blacker houses.

Now owned by Blenda and Andrew Wright, the Darling-Wright house recently underwent a major renovation. The goal was to upgrade the building to accommodate a modern-day lifestyle while protecting and restoring the home’s architectural integrity. To carry out the renovation the Wrights hired HartmanBaldwin Design/Build an architecture and construction firm specializing in residential remodeling with vast experience in restoring historic homes.

HartmanBaldwin’s starting point was a grand home that had seen better days. Many interior and exterior components were extremely worn or rotten. There was extensive rot in the roof outlookers supporting the broad eaves, and most of the windows were either not original or rotten beyond repair. Poorly planned past remodels had compromised structural integrity in some areas, requiring reinforcement of some walls and the roof. The original finishes had mostly been altered, and the exterior shingle siding and roofing were not original.

In Claremont, the home is considered a local showplace, an influential work by Greene and Greene, leaders of the American Arts and Crafts movement. More than 100 years later, it seems only fitting that the home bear another green label—GreenPoint Rated.

“We’re tremendously excited and humbled by the entire experience,” said the home’s owner, Blenda Wright. “It’s an honor to be able to give this home, its past residents and the city of Claremont an opportunity to add yet another page to its incredible legacy.”

Improving the environmental performance of a historic home proved to be an exciting opportunity for the HartmanBaldwin team. “After studying sustainable, energy-efficient architecture in college, few clients were interested in such applications during the 80’s and 90’s,” said Alan Brookman, HartmanBaldwin’s lead architect on the project. “This was the first significant project I've been involved with that could be considered green.”

Original garage being moved.

HartmanBaldwin carried out the large and complex renovation project in multiple phases. One of the first steps was relocating the original garage to another Claremont property to make room for a new garage and studio. The garage duplicates the design and scale of the original, but accommodates three cars and is located to afford more private garden space on the otherwise exposed corner lot.

The project also involved renovating many of the home’s interior spaces, including the kitchen, breakfast room, laundry and bath, living and dining rooms, office and upstairs bedrooms. The remodel reorganized an inefficient, earlier kitchen remodel, and added vintage-styled bathrooms for guests and visitors. Additionally, a larger master suite was created with a full bath and additional closet space.

GreenPoint Rated Adds Value

GPR Certificate When HartmanBaldwin decided to have the project GreenPoint Rated, they brought in Charisse Dunn, a certified GreenPoint Rater and green building consultant.

“I was very excited when HartmanBaldwin called me to do the GreenPoint Rating,” Dunn said. “They’re an amazing company. Because they do remodels, the GreenPoint Rating was really important to them.” GreenPoint Rated is the first comprehensive green building rating system in the nation for existing homes.

“GreenPoint Rated is a really great system,” she said. “It really gives people pride in what they’re doing.”

On this project, the homeowners were not initially familiar with many green building practices, but the HartmanBaldwin team was able to use the GreenPoint Rating process to help educate them, as well as their own staff, about the benefits of green remodeling.

“Going green was both a learning and rewarding experience,” said Blenda Wright. “Not only will our historic home be energy efficient but the way in which we’ve built it has extended the house’s life cycle, making it possible for future families to share in its history.”

“Through the process,” said architect Brookman, the Wrights “became more aware and more excited about the many technologies and procedures that, cumulatively, added tremendous value to their project. And once we got to the home performance analysis and techniques, they became enthusiastic advocates of our suggestions.”

The GreenPoint Rated “process became very fun and creative as well as challenging,” Brookman said. “Although challenging at times, as with any time an organization is introducing a new process, we found the experience to be very rewarding and informative.”

Brookman emphasizes that it is important for green building practices to be integrated into the project well before construction begins. “It’s more difficult to implement once in construction,” he said, and it is “harder to communicate to clients and others the value and costs associated at that point.”

“It’s more efficient and cost effective to approach the design with Green elements and goals in mind, this makes the construction planning with subs and our crews much more collaborative and easier to execute. ” he added.

Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Brookman stresses that home performance tests conducted as part of the GreenPoint Rated process should be done before construction begins. “It helps identify where money should be spent to improve the energy efficiency of a home,” he said. “If these energy upgrades had not been made during this renovation they would have been impossible until the next renovation which could’ve been 50 to 80 years from now.”


	Click photos for larger view.

To create an effective air barrier and improve insulation performance, HartmanBaldwin retrofitted the exterior walls with spray foam insulation, which was applied from the outside after removing the exterior siding. Spray foam insulation was also applied behind the vaulted ceilings.

The existing heating and cooling system was oversized for the home and Claremont’s temperate climate. Properly sealing and insulating the home’s building envelope helped make it possible to downsize the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system to an appropriate size, which has the dual benefit of improving comfort and reducing energy use. New ducts were also installed.


	Click photos for larger view.

Seventy-five percent of the windows were either not original or rotten beyond repair. These were replaced with new custom double-pane windows to improve comfort and energy efficiency while maintaining the historic look. Because of their historical significance, the original windows were carefully removed and are being stored on-site.

Indoor Air Quality

The home has a detached garage, an excellent strategy for keeping car exhaust and other air pollutants out of the house. To further protect indoor air quality, low VOC paints were used throughout the home’s interior. The bathrooms and kitchen have exhaust fans that vent to the outside to remove moisture and odors. The HVAC system has a high efficiency filter to reduce indoor air pollution, and the home has an alarm to alert residents if carbon monoxide in the indoor air exceeds safe levels.

Resource Conservation

The project team took strides to reduce waste wherever possible. “Everything that could be saved was refurbished and reused onsite or in another location,” said Brookman. The original garage, for example, was relocated in its entirety to another property in Claremont. Its new owners are planning to restore it and use it as a guest house.

Original sconces are being kept in storage due to their historical significance; replicas were crafted for the renovation. Some of the original plumbing fixtures, as well as a pedestal sink and kitchen sink that were not original, were removed and reused on another project. Construction waste, including cardboard, plastic and aluminum, was recycled.

The GreenPoint Rated process influenced how the project team thought about waste. “As the project manager I started ordering without unnecessary packaging,” Troy Coats, Project Manager said. “It changed the way I thought about ordering materials and recycling. I personally held a meeting with our subs to discuss the importance of not only recycling but steps that may come even before that, like talking to suppliers and having them ship items with less packaging. For instance some wood flooring comes in multiple individual cardboard boxes but our flooring was delivered all bundled together with no cardboard at all.”

Water Conservation

All the faucets and showerheads were replaced with low-flow fixtures, and the toilets were replaced with low-flow reproductions of a 1921 toilet with a low wall-hung tank. These new, historically appropriate fixtures and toilets meet today’s code requirements for water conservation.


	Click photos for larger view.

Planned improvements to the home’s landscaping include creating a garden true to the Arts and Crafts period, with a smaller lawn and an emphasis California native plants and trees that require less irrigation.

Community & Living Green

As is common with many older homes, the Darling-Wright residence presents an inviting face to the community, with a front door and porch oriented toward the street. The entryway also provides residents with a good view of callers approaching the door. The pedestrian-friendly neighborhood is served by public transit, and many neighborhood services and amenities are located within walking distance. The project also received GreenPoint Rated points for accessibility, thanks to a ground-floor bathroom that has blocking for grab bars.

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