That 2007 collaboration, with a team of other contractors and consultants steeped in green and sustainable building, produced a simple yet spectacular structure that captures the rustic flavor of Chester County in striking contemporary fashion.
"The whole experience changed us," says Ave Topel, 60. "We went from not knowing about green building to becoming advocates."
The couple even wrote a book about their adventure, Green Beginnings: The Story of How We Built Our Green & Sustainable Home, that celebrates what they call TGA - The Green Aesthetic - their joyous resolve to display the environmentally responsible features of their distinctive home.
In many ways, the Topel house, which earned a coveted LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) silver certification, exemplifies the latest trends in timber-framing, an ancient form of construction as beautiful as it is sturdy. Revived during the energy crisis of the 1970s, timber framing, sometimes referred to as post-and-beam construction, has proven remarkably adaptable to modern needs.
"Timber framing is about melding the ancient and modern, the past and future," says Tedd Benson, founding owner of Bensonwood Homes, a timber-frame construction company in Walpole, N.H. Benson has written books about timber-framing and is regarded as an industry sage and visionary.
Early timber-frame structures, such as 12th-century cruck houses and 14th-century manor houses, tended to be enclosed and dark. The hallmarks of 21st-century timber-frame houses are light, glass, openness, and energy efficiency, Benson says.
