🌿 Healthy Home Colorado Springs: Living Design Made Simple

A Friendly Field Guide to Building Places that Heal People and the Planet

(Inspired by the Living Building Challenge, Zero Energy + Carbon Standards, and Living Community Patterns)

🧭 WHY THIS GUIDE EXISTS

Sustainability shouldn’t feel like homework.
This guide takes world-class regenerative design systems and translates them into simple steps you can actually do — from choosing healthier paint to designing entire neighborhoods that make people feel good.

Our goal is simple:

Create homes and communities that give back more than they take.

🏡 THE 7 FOUNDATIONS OF A “HEALTHY HOME”

These seven pillars come from the Living Building Challenge (LBC 4.0), but we’ve rewritten them in plain English — each with simple actions you can take right now.

Foundation	What It Means (Plain English)	Simple Actions You Can Take
1. Place	Build where nature already works.	Choose sites that already have sun, trees, and life. Protect existing soil and plants. Plant native species. Make walking easier than driving.
2. Water	Treat water like gold.	Collect rainwater. Use low-flow fixtures. Reuse graywater for landscaping. Filter drinking water.
3. Energy	Create your own clean energy.	Add solar panels sized to power 100% of your home. Design for sunlight, shade, and insulation. Ditch fossil fuels — use electric heat pumps and induction stoves.
4. Health + Happiness	Make every room feel good to be in.	Use natural light and fresh air. Avoid chemical smells. Add plants and views of nature. Let people open windows.
5. Materials	Build with ingredients you’d want in your own lungs.	Avoid PVC, formaldehyde, and flame retardants. Pick products with a Declare Label (“nutrition label for materials”). Use real wood, cork, stone, and natural finishes.
6. Equity	Design for everyone.	Make entrances step-free. Add ramps and clear paths. Support local makers and trades. Use fair-wage suppliers.
7. Beauty	Create places people love.	Add art, color, story, and craftsmanship. Use natural light and materials that age gracefully. Celebrate local culture and landscape.

⚡ SIMPLE ENERGY GAME PLAN

(Adapted from ILFI’s Zero Energy + Zero Carbon Standards)

The Goal:

Use less energy, make your own power, and stop burning fossil fuels.

Step	Action	Why It Matters
1	Design to need less – insulate well, seal air leaks, and orient windows for sun.	Efficiency is cheaper than solar panels.
2	Go all-electric – use a heat pump for heating, cooling, and hot water.	No gas = cleaner indoor air + safer climate.
3	Add solar panels sized for 100% of your energy use.	Achieve “net zero energy” — you make as much as you use.
4	Track your use – install an energy monitor.	Small changes (like turning off “vampire” devices) save big over time.
5	Battery or backup plan – use battery storage for resilience.	Keeps your home running during outages.

💧 WATER SIMPLIFIED

(From LBC “Net Positive Water” and real-world projects like the Bullitt Center)

Step	Simple Practice	Example
1	Harvest rainwater.	Cisterns or rain barrels off your roof.
2	Use less.	Efficient toilets, showerheads, and faucets.
3	Reuse graywater.	Send shower and sink water to irrigate gardens.
4	Filter naturally.	Use sand filters or constructed wetlands for reuse.
5	Inspire others.	Display your water system – make it part of the story.

🌱 MATERIALS MADE EASY

(From LBC Red List, Declare + Living Product Challenge)

Think of materials like food — what’s in them matters.

Rule of Thumb	Example	Quick Win
Choose “Declare” products	Products with a Declare label tell you all ingredients and if they’re safe.	Search declare.living-future.org before you buy flooring, paint, or insulation.
Avoid the “Dirty Dozen”	PVC, formaldehyde, phthalates, flame retardants, VOCs, PFAS, fiberglass, MDF, vinyl flooring, carpet adhesives.	Pick natural alternatives (cork, bamboo, linoleum).
Support Living Products	These actually give back to the planet.	Ask suppliers if they have Living Product Challenge (LPC) certification.
Source locally	Fewer miles = less carbon.	Use regional stone, timber, and trades.

🌿 HEALTH + HAPPINESS (BIOPHILIC BASICS)

(From ILFI’s Biophilic Design Guide + Interface’s Creating Positive Spaces)

You don’t need a forest — just follow these 5 micro-strategies:

1. See nature – windows with mountain or sky views.

2. Feel nature – natural materials you can touch (wood, stone, wool).

3. Hear nature – use soft water sounds or birdsong instead of mechanical hums.

4. Smell nature – fresh air, no synthetic scents.

5. Move like nature – light that changes through the day, breezes from operable windows.

Bonus: even small patterns (like wavy tiles or leaf-like textures) boost wellbeing.

🏙 COMMUNITY-SCALE DESIGN

(From the Living Community Challenge Patterns)

Pattern	Easy-to-Visualize Example
Urban Rewilding	Native gardens, pollinator corridors, daylighted creeks.
Blue-Green Streets	Streets with trees, bioswales, bike paths, and slow traffic.
Street-to-Table	Edible medians, fruit trees, and community gardens.
Grower/Maker Spaces	Shared workshops for makers, repairers, and artists.
Mobility in the Middle	Prioritize walking, biking, and small electric vehicles.
Roof as Resource	Green roofs that host solar panels and gardens.

🌎 ZERO CARBON, ZERO STRESS

(From ILFI’s Zero Carbon framework)

Think two things:
👉 What materials you buy
👉 How you power your space

Your “Zero Carbon” Checklist:

• Reuse what exists before building new.

• Choose materials with low embodied carbon (check Environmental Product Declarations).

• Electrify everything — no fossil fuel hookups.

• Power all electricity with renewables (on-site or community solar).

• Offset any leftover emissions through local reforestation or verified carbon projects.

🪴 MAKING IT LOCAL

You don’t need to certify to make an impact.
Start small, measure success, and grow:

Level	Description	Example
Healthy Home	Focus on air, light, and materials.	One home with Declare products and solar.
Healthy Block	Add shared green space and gardens.	A cluster of homes sharing solar + gardens.
Healthy Community	Connect people, mobility, and ecology.	A neighborhood with walkable streets and Blue-Green corridors.

🧰 YOUR TOOLBOX

Need	Tool
Find safe materials	declare.living-future.org
Measure embodied carbon	carbonleadershipforum.org
Estimate solar generation	pvwatts.nrel.gov
Learn more about ILFI standards	living-future.org

💬 FINAL WORD

This isn’t about chasing certifications — it’s about creating places that make people healthier, happier, and more connected to the planet.