{"id":426,"date":"2025-03-13T14:00:48","date_gmt":"2025-03-13T18:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.sothebysrealty.com\/2025\/03\/13\/designing-a-climate-resilient-home\/"},"modified":"2025-03-13T14:00:48","modified_gmt":"2025-03-13T18:00:48","slug":"designing-a-climate-resilient-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/designing-a-climate-resilient-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Designing a Climate-Resilient Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today\u2019s luxury properties can have low environmental impact without sacrificing elevated aesthetics, says Elizabeth Fazzare<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a>Lisbon, Portugal<\/span><\/a> | <\/span>Portugal Sotheby\u2019s International Realty<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

To weather the future\u2019s proverbial storm, it\u2019s clear that construction requires a pivot to climate-resilient design: in short, architecture and landscaping that anticipate the effects of climate change and natural disasters, and are thereby best placed to recover from them.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the luxury market, innovative architects, designers, developers and homeowners have already begun to implement this. \u201cIncreasingly, conscientious designers and consumers are building a new aesthetic language around respect for the planet and its resources,\u201d says the New York-based architect Graydon Yearick of Studio YV, whose projects explore local and natural materials as well as state-of-the-art sustainable technology.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span>Pine Plains, New York<\/span><\/a> | <\/span>Four Seasons Sotheby\u2019s International Realty<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

For <\/span>this luxurious 29-acre home<\/span><\/a>, currently on the market in Pine Plains, New York, Yearick collaborated with the interior design duo Halliday Greer and the landscape studio LaGuardia Design Group on a plan that, in his words, put \u201cclimate resilience as a priority from the inception.\u201d Durable materials, such as Abodo timber siding, renewably sourced wood flooring and interior beams collected directly from the site, make up its chicly pared-back farmhouse, which has off-the-grid capability via Tesla solar roof tiles and geothermal heating and cooling. The creative team also employed \u201cpassive building strategies,\u201d which range from building orientation to natural ventilation and lighting. A garden of native plants and the ability to collect and reuse rainwater across the property boosts both its aesthetic and ecological value.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople\u2019s perception of beauty will increasingly include consideration of carbon footprint,\u201d says Yearick, who believes that \u201cluxury should be defined by low environmental impact.\u201d As well as its environmentally sustainable credentials, the upstate New York house is also \u201cself-sustaining,\u201d says the architect, who conceived it as \u201ca refuge from the outside world.\u201d Should the need arise, its owners can enjoy all their desired creature comforts without requiring any outside resources. This is climate-resilient luxury.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Wanaka, Otago, New Zealand<\/span><\/a> | <\/span>New Zealand Sotheby\u2019s International Realty<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Homes designed for the future should be as good for their residents\u2019 health and well-being as they are for the planet. In Wanaka, a resort town on New Zealand\u2019s South Island, the local firm Assembly Architects used the land itself to design a <\/span>contemporary countryside home<\/span><\/a> that achieves both. With rammed earth walls, the house is fireproof, energy efficient and requires little maintenance\u2014\u201cgreat for a rural area,\u201d says its listing agent, Kylie Stewart of New Zealand Sotheby\u2019s International Realty.<\/span><\/p>\n

The non-toxic material used in construction is also hypoallergenic, pest-proof, and noise cancelling, allowing occupants the peace of mind to focus on the surrounding views of Mount Barker rather than the upkeep of their property, now and later. \u201cThis natural material ties into the environment and is a sustainable building product,\u201d says Stewart. \u201cIt creates a healthy home.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

When disaster does strike, preemptive design is the best source of security. Overlooking Italy\u2019s Lake Garda, <\/span>a contemporary, glass-clad villa<\/span><\/a> currently on the market employs the latest eco-friendly energy technologies: radiant heating and cooling under its floor, solar panels on a south-facing roof, and a controlled mechanical ventilation system. It is also earthquake resistant, important for its location in one of the most seismically active regions in the country.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span>Verona, Italy<\/span><\/a> | <\/span>Italy Sotheby\u2019s International Realty<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

The villa\u2019s exterior walls are built from stone sourced from a quarry just 15km away, minimizing transportation while complementing the regional aesthetic, explains <\/span>Silvia Princivalle, global real estate advisor with Italy Sotheby\u2019s International Realty.<\/span> The gardens are terraced to the area\u2019s natural topography, planted with exclusively native species, and irrigated with smart technology that uses only as much water as needed, she adds. A small orchard and vegetable garden supports local food production, and the overall landscaping incorporates erosion control measures to protect the property from increasingly extreme weather patterns. Meanwhile, the building\u2019s modular design can be adapted in future without major reconstruction.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Architecture plays a large role in climate-resilient living. \u201cBest-practice luxury homes are smaller and more efficient,\u201d says Yearick. \u201cReducing the scale of a home is a good step toward respecting the climate, and with current technologies, we no longer need fossil fuels to run a house.\u201d New construction is not always possible, of course, nor the most sustainable way to achieve climate-resilient design. \u201cReusing existing buildings, and retrofitting them with energy-efficient systems, reduces consumption,\u201d he adds. \u201cA truly luxurious house is more about its respect for the planet than it is about its choice of marble.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Drawn to the simpler life? <\/i>Explore the timeless appeal of Japanese Minimalism <\/i><\/a><\/span><\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today\u2019s luxury properties can have low environmental impact without sacrificing elevated aesthetics, says Elizabeth Fazzare Lisbon, Portugal | Portugal Sotheby\u2019s International Realty To weather the future\u2019s proverbial storm, it\u2019s clear that construction requires a pivot to climate-resilient design: in short, architecture and landscaping that anticipate the effects of climate change and natural disasters, and are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":232770368,"featured_media":343602,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1399],"tags":[1453,1472,1473,1480],"class_list":["post-426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home-and-design","tag-italy","tag-new-york","tag-new-zealand","tag-portugal"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/header-3.jpg","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pf4gbL-6S","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":385,"url":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/where-to-be-in-2025\/","url_meta":{"origin":426,"position":0},"title":"Where To Be In 2025","author":"Procurement Admin","date":"January 2, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"From Thailand to Portugal, these are the locations to head to this new year, writes Francesca Perry Sintra, Portugal | Portugal Sotheby\u2019s International Realty One of the best things about starting a new year is making plans. Not the resolutions to change bad habits, no\u2014but the plans for holidays, travel,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art and Culture"","block_context":{"text":"Art and Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/category\/art-and-culture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static-sir-corp-blog-production.gtsstatic.net\/blog-api\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/image3.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static-sir-corp-blog-production.gtsstatic.net\/blog-api\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/image3.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static-sir-corp-blog-production.gtsstatic.net\/blog-api\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/image3.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static-sir-corp-blog-production.gtsstatic.net\/blog-api\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/image3.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":416,"url":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/spotlight-on-sintra-the-portuguese-paradise\/","url_meta":{"origin":426,"position":1},"title":"Spotlight on Sintra: The Portuguese Paradise","author":"Procurement Admin","date":"February 24, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Find your own slice of heaven in this long-established hideaway for the rich and famous, writes Ellie Howard UNESCO world heritage meets lush greenery at Sintra\u2019s Quinta da Regaleira. Photograph: Fundac\u0327a\u0303o Cultursintra FP Although he only stayed for three days, Lord Byron was so taken by the \u201cglorious Eden\u201d of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art and Culture"","block_context":{"text":"Art and Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/category\/art-and-culture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/header-6.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/header-6.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/header-6.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/header-6.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/header-6.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/header-6.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":345187,"url":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/dark-romance-the-magic-of-living-in-a-gothic-property\/","url_meta":{"origin":426,"position":2},"title":"Dark Romance: The Magic of Living in a Gothic Property","author":"Kate Marburger","date":"October 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"From medieval fortresses to modernist castles, Gothic architecture continues to cast its spell. 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