Amid a sea of traditional, family-style homes in the Greenwich Crest neighborhood of Bellevue, David and Millie Huang are moving into the community and doing things a little differently.

The husband and wife team are stamping a green footprint as they lead the way in sustainable home building on the Eastside.

The couple has embarked on a year-long project to design and build a contemporary custom home featuring sustainable products and green technologies.

Designed, built and owned by David Huang of Modus V Studio Architects, the green technology demonstration home will act as an educational tool in sustainability for the home building community.

“When it comes to the environment, people often focus on the type of car they drive, but they don’t realize how much energy a single building uses,” David Huang explained. “As an architect, it’s my responsibility to address the problem and be a leader in change.”

Once built, the Huang’s will open their doors for public tours and educational presentations, demonstrating the functionality and style of a number of green products and technologies.

Known as the Green Concept Home project, the two-story, 2,840 square-foot home will be the first single-family residence in Bellevue to be internationally recognized by the “LEED for Homes” green certification program. The project is also registered under the regionally recognized “Built Green” program and Energy Star green certifications.

“It’s not difficult to build a multi-million dollar home with green features because the possibilities are endless,” Millie Huang explained. “The challenge is in sustainable building on a budget. We want this project to be attainable to the average home builder.”

The Green Concept Home will be designed to consume less energy with its numerous green features including the installation of Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs), pre-fabricated wall panels with high insulation value that are assembled on site, reducing framing construction time and waste. Other green features include solar hot water heating, a heat recovery ventilator, radiant heat flooring throughout home, and an Energy Star metal roof with solar photovoltaic panels pre-wiring for future installation.

The Huang’s designed the home to cater to both private and public spaces. The left side of the home will be designated public space for entertainment purposes with fluid movement from one room to the next, natural lighting, and high ceilings.

The right side of the home includes a private living space, with four bedrooms and green features like bamboo flooring.

The interior of the house will use low-VOC paint and will be carpet-less for better air quality. A heat recovery ventilator will heat the house during the cold winter months using less energy then a traditional heating system and radiant heat flooring with high-efficiency boiler will keep the concrete and bamboo flooring warm.

“This is a learning process for us,” David Huang explained. “We research as we go along.”

To help eliminate water waste, a 1,700 gallon underground water cistern will be installed to collect rain water run-off from the roof and foundation drains. The recycled water will then be used for indoor water use such as toilet flushing and outdoor irrigation use. Low-flow water fixtures, water efficient clothes washer and dishwasher, pervious concrete and low maintenance drought-tolerance landscaping also contribute to lower water costs.

“Our goal from the beginning was to design a home that we could open up to the public for educational purposes. We hope people will be inspired by this project and will approach home building in a new, more greener way,” David Huang said.

Lindsay Larin can be reached at 425.453.4602.

Follow along as the Green Concept Home takes shape on the project website, at www.greenconcepthome.com.