This week Trillium Architects celebrated its 20th Earth Day.  Each of those years, our goal has been to cherish and nurture our planet. We believe a home should be a natural extension of the earth itself — enhancing its beauty, preserving its resources and sustaining its wonderment.  When we began 20 years ago, there were hardly any firms in the Northeast focused on building sustainable housing. We stood our ground (literally), learning more each and every year, designing homes that fulfilled our clients’ visions while honoring the earth.  We are proud to be an advocate for Plan ..read more

Sometimes renovating an existing space can pose more of a challenge than starting from scratch. In our latest video, we walk you through a kitchen renovation that took the room from dim and cramped to cozy and comfortable.    Our first challenge was to open up the space. Trillium began with raising the ceiling to let in more light and create a feeling of spaciousness and freedom. Then the overall layout was revamped to open up even more space, including a “hidden” coffee bar and pantry which can be concealed and revealed on demand.  Of course, the devil is in the details. Trilli ..read more

Last time Elizabeth DiSalvo, Trillium Architects founder, discussed the costs of constructing your new house—all of the materials and labor that need to come together to actually build a sustainable home. It involves an intricate process which encompasses a design that reflects the clients’ vision, an understanding of how to optimally place the structure on a given site and a contractor who understands the challenges of the concept and puts together an efficient plan to get it done. This week, in Part Four as Elizabeth breaks down the additional fees and costs you can anticipate in achieving y ..read more

Some people might be confused as to what having a “green home” actually means, interchanging terms like “sustainable,” “energy efficient” and “net-zero.” In our latest video, Elizabeth DiSalvo, founder of Trillium Architects, explains that it can be “all of the above.” DiSalvo walks us through six important concepts that Trillium adheres to in designing and building a “green” home: 1. It all begins with the house’s envelope which provides superior insulation. 2. Advanced highly energy efficient HVAC equipment along with the tight envelope provides maximum control of air temperature and moi ..read more

Some people may think a green or sustainable home is much more expensive than a “traditional” home. Guess what? It’s not. The minimal increase in expense is more than covered by the cost savings you’ll experience in utility charges. In fact, you can possibly get your utility expenses down to zero! If you’re interested in a net zero home, this video from Trillium Architects is a must-view. In it, Elizabeth DiSalvo, the Founder of Trillium Architects, gives you a common-sense explanation of the minimal difference in costs between a new net-zero home and a new traditional home. And besides the lo ..read more

Building a sustainable or “green” house, or building any house for that matter, is a complex process. It involves an intricate process which encompasses a design that reflects the clients’ vision, an understanding of how to optimally place the structure on a given site and a contractor who understands the challenges of the concept and puts together an efficient plan to get it done.  In this video Elizabeth DiSalvo, founder of Trillium Architects, talks about the elements included in the construction of a sustainable home. She addresses material, labor and the markups of both the contracto ..read more

Trillium Architects Co-operative Better Buildings for People and Planet  We are proud to announce that Trillium Architects LLC has become Trillium Architects Co-operative. Trillium Architects Co-operative (L-R) Megan Loucas, Darrell Soho, Elizbeth DiSalvo, Dave Reilly, Jackson Wehrli At Trillium Architects, we’re entering our twentieth year in business. And to celebrate, we’re doing something significant, quite significant. Trillium Architects LLC is now becoming Trillium Architects Cooperative. This is a big deal for us. Because it reflects our values, the values of a new emerging econo ..read more

Our House Tour was a great success! If you missed it you can catch our recap here and stay tuned for information on our next tour as well as a more in depth educational video ..read more

"We made the list! The ""world's most beautiful sustainable builds"" list. Trillium is recognized by the international Homes & Gardens magazine for ""proving that eco-friendly does not mean you have to sacrifice beauty and sophistication."" Give it a read! https://www.homesandgardens.com/news/eco-houses ..read more

To read an expanded version of our priorities in thinking differently and building differently, download our free PDF here.   During Earth Month, all of us think of going ‘green,’ but when building green it also means thinking differently and designing differently.  When we think about green building, we think first about innovation. Being innovative requires setting our priorities differently than when we used to do ‘normal’ construction.  Since every home we design is now ‘green,’ our thinking is always focused on a few different and key priorities:   1.   ..read more