The Power of Integration
Aligning Your Lifestyle & Values
by Jennifer Walton
“We view the design phase as an opportunity to understand our client’s values clearly. It’s crucial to look at all the different ways you can build a home, and you have to begin with the end in mind.”
–Shan Stassens, Owner, Winsome Construction
Exploring the Advantages of a High-Performance Home with Winsome Construction
Is it possible to infuse your values into your luxury home’s design? Can your vision of a conscious home that reflects who you are and how you live translate to a high-performance, highly integrated home? How do you redefine luxury beyond aesthetics? Winsome Construction believes that what your home is made of, its construction method, and who builds it is the result of asking those questions and incorporating the answers into your dream home.
“We view the design phase as an opportunity to understand our client’s values clearly,” says third-generation Oregon builder Shan Stassens, owner of the family-owned and operated Winsome Construction, Bend’s high-performance luxury home builder. “It’s crucial to look at all the different ways you can build a home, and you have to begin with the end in mind. We try to imagine our clients relaxing in their finished homes and think to ourselves, what do they see? How even is the air temperature? Can they smell smoke during the fire season? Are there hot spots in the home? What sounds are they hearing? Are the humidity levels high enough to combat dryness? We can greatly influence all of these things at the beginning of the project. It’s important to identify our client’s values first so we can put the resources into the elements that are meaningful to them.”
What is a high-performance, highly-integrated luxury home? It combines luxury features with advanced building techniques and smart technologies to create a residence that prioritizes efficiency, sustainability, comfort, and seamless integration. Winsome Construction presents several elements to consider during initial conversations that lead to their client’s decisions aligning with their values.
Some might call it ‘conscientious construction,’ practices that commit to responsible and sustainable building. However, clients understand that it results in a form of luxury living that considers the life cycle of their home and optimal living conditions that reflect their tastes and priorities. And the bonus point: they are rewarded daily with their home’s quality and performance.
“There are many amazing technologies. We use Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF), Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs), and Advanced Stick building methods, not all at once, and each has unique characteristics and advantages. But the goal is for the home to perform significantly better than a code minimum,” Stassens explains. And Winsome Construction’s experience building homes that adhere to the highest industry standards and beyond is exceptional.
“In addition, there are metrics to qualify what a great house is—from LEED and Earth Advantage to Passive House and Living Building Challenge. These accreditations are in place to quantify quality rather than using any subjective definition of excellence. We like to give our clients a forecast of what they can expect. Design discovery is an exciting time of design to include all the wishes and wants, sort through them, and determine the best way to build each home for each client. Our vision is to curate a meaningful and positive experience that results in a luxury home that is delightful to live in.”
Comparing Construction Options
“We view the design phase as an opportunity to understand our client’s values clearly. It’s crucial to look at all the different ways you can build a home, and you have to begin with the end in mind.”
The construction for ICF (Insulated Concrete Forms) involves using interlocking foam blocks or panels to create the formwork for pouring concrete, which serves as the structural and insulating components of the wall. A primary advantage is that the combination of concrete and insulation provides excellent thermal performance, reducing energy consumption for heating and cooling. The forms, constructed with non-toxic materials, do not produce any off-gassing.
Other advantages include soundproofing, durability (the structure is resistant to fire, mold, and pests), and a home that can be quickly constructed, which reduces construction time and potential disruption to the land and its surrounding environment.
SIPs (Structural Insulated Panels) consist of an insulating foam core sandwiched between two structural panels (typically, oriented strand board or OSB). SIPs provide superior insulation. Due to their large prefabricated panels, using SIPs can speed up the construction process. Another advantage is reduced labor costs because assembling SIPs requires fewer tradespeople on-site, which lowers labor expenses. Like ICF construction, SIPs offer high structural integrity and withstand various environmental conditions.
Advanced Stick Building refers to modern, high-quality construction techniques using traditional lumber framing but with additional features and materials for better performance. The predominant advantage of this method is flexibility, allowing versatile and customizable designs. Often, it is more cost-effective, especially for smaller projects. Traditionally, stick-built homes adhere to standard building codes and practices, making it easier to navigate local regulations.
Aligning Values to Features
“Electric cars are permeating our projects. We recently built a high-performance home with a client who owned three EVs and requested solar panels. This is an example of integration.”
–Shan Stassens, Owner, Winsome Construction
Conscientious construction encompasses a holistic perspective that aims to minimize negative impacts on the environment. One guiding principle emphasizes the responsible use of natural resources, striving to reduce waste generation, water usage, and energy consumption during construction and throughout the home’s life cycle. Another principle encourages the adoption of innovative technologies.
When clients approach Winsome with the idea of building a luxury yet environmentally friendly home, Winsome reminds them that their strategies affect both the inside and outside of their home’s footprint. “Electric cars are permeating our projects. We recently built a high-performance home with a client who owned three EVs and requested solar panels. This is an example of integration. It was a challenge; however, we installed an unusually large electric service with a Tesla Wall. Within just a few months, they were generating most of their electricity and could store it. While we felt hesitant installing such an extensive infrastructure for an efficient home, we realized that we were relieving an entire supply chain for the home and the vehicles.” While energy-efficient features may require an initial investment, the long-term savings on energy bills can far outweigh the upfront costs. The payback is pretty quick. In this case, the client made deliberate choices and actions that aligned with his values. His luxury was his new environment and his independence from traditional energy sources.
Winsome Construction has built net-zero homes and over 60 ICF homes. One typical luxury among them is radiant heating because of its low maintenance, long life cycle, and the comfort and efficiency it provides. But that is just one feature among many.
Luxury can be smart home technology (systems that control lighting, heating, cooling, security, and entertainment through automation and remote access). For some, it’s sustainable materials like recycled or reclaimed wood or metal. For others, luxury is indoor air quality with advanced ventilation systems and air purification (healthy homes, healthy lives) or water efficiency, like rainwater harvesting systems or irrigation methods, to reduce consumption. Or perhaps it is aesthetics—the architectural design and premium finishes that honor the inhabitants and their philosophies.
By integrating these elements, high-performance, highly integrated luxury homes offer an elevated lifestyle that supports and respects sustainability, efficiency, and a seamless living experience. Winsome Construction aims to create a legacy through their craftmanship in homes that embrace technology, represent conscientious construction, and align an owner’s custom-made ambiance to their values.
