Former student's firm designs, builds LEED
Platinum home for old Mueller Airport site

An Austin home that received the highest certification from four "green" building programs was built and sold by an Aggie builder in a development that's transforming the city's old airport space into a mixed-use urban village.

Durrett Interests, LLC, built the home at Mueller, a new community rising at the site of the city's Robert Mueller Airport, which closed in 1999. The development is located three miles north of downtown.

The firm was founded in 2001 by Marshall Durrett, who holds three degrees from Texas A&M: a Bachelor of Environmental Design in 1997, a Master of Science in Land Development in 1998, and a Master of Science in Construction Management in 1999.

"The 3,266-square-foot home obtained top ratings by the three most widely accepted green building programs in Austin: LEED-Platinum, NAHB Model Green Home Building Gold, and Austin Energy Green Building 5-Star," wrote Jennifer Goodman in the August 19, 2009 issue of ECOHOME. "The house is also Energy Star-qualified."

Durrett told Goodman the home's quadruple certification generated plenty of buzz during the Greater Austin Home Builders Association’s Parade of Homes in May-June 2009.

“Our team did an excellent job of planning their work and working their plan when it came to coordinating the four ratings,” says Durrett. “When we got the news that we had been rated LEED-Platinum, we couldn’t stop smiling for three days.”

The Austin American-Statesman noted the 3,266 square-foot custom home's sale in its Dec. 23 issue.

"It's the first house at Mueller, and one of the first in Central Texas, to earn a platinum rating, the highest available, from the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy Design program," wrote American-Statesman reporter Shonda Novak.

The home, designed by Barley & Pfeiffer Architects, has rooftop solar panels, L-shaped window awnings to block the heat and a screened porch with a fireplace for year-round use, wrote Novak.

For Goodman's story in ECOHOME, visit www.ecohomemagazine.com.

For Novak's story, in the American-Statesman, visit www.statesman.com.

Visit Durrett Interests, LLC's website at www.durrettinterests.com.

- Posted: Jan. 21, 2010-