Three homes. Three climates. Three sustainable solutions.
From harsh winters to wildfires, see how three homes in diverse climates utilize sustainable Hardie® products to leverage the siding’s durability and resilience.
When it comes to building products and sustainability, homeowners want lasting beauty and products that protect what matters to them most, both inside and outside the home. Our changing climate has ramped up the need for resilience and durability in the face of extreme weather, wildfires and floods.
Each element of a sustainable home works together to be planet-friendly, including its exterior siding. As Chief Sustainability Officer at James Hardie Building Products Inc. ("James Hardie"), each day I get to experience the passion and precision our team puts into finding solutions and driving innovation in our manufacturing processes and in our product design. Hardie® products are durable and resilient, requiring fewer replacements and generating less waste in the long term. The benefit is a reduction in embodied carbon across the lifecycle of a building or home.
To demonstrate this innovation and progress, James Hardie is working with leading builders who are constructing three resilient homes for the future:
- Thrive Home Builders for the Panorama Idea Home (ProBuilder)
- Tim O’Brien Homes for the VISION House Sussex (Green Builder)
- Symbi Homes for Queen of Zero (Journal of Light Construction)
While each of these homes is in the United States, they are in three diverse geographies and climates - the mountain range, the Midwest, and the mid-Atlantic. Each project is unique, but what they have in common is the incorporation of more sustainable solutions delivered through Hardie® products.
Three Homes Built to Sustain
In a climate where we’re seeing more extreme weather events, it’s more important than ever to choose a product that is Engineered for Climate®. For these three homes, The Hardie™ Zone System provides siding with specific performance attributes for the homes’ unique climates.
As all three homes are located in the northern region, the builders are using the HZ5® product line. These products are right at home in climates with freezing temperatures, extreme seasonal temperature variations, and snow and ice. When asked why they chose Hardie® products for the Green Builder project, Tim O’Brien said, “It’s very durable and long-lasting even in a climate like ours where temperatures drop well below zero.”
Panorama Idea Home: Breckenridge, Colorado
Thrive Home Builders selected Hardie® products for the 6,600 square-foot Panorama Idea Home planned for completion in September 2024 to leverage the siding’s durability and resilience. Knowing that a home’s exterior is its first line of defense, the Panorama Idea Home is better prepared for extreme conditions with Hardie® products. Importantly, the non-combustible siding won’t burn and is recognized by fire departments nationwide.*
Gene Myers from Thrive Home Builders selected Hardie® siding for this project after the 2021 Marshall Fire in Boulder County that destroyed 1,084 homes and caused more than $500 million in damage. Thrive Home Builders had 30 homes in the fire’s wake, and all withstood the threat. In a recent ProBuilder interview, Gene said, ““The Marshall fire is … the motivation for this Panorama House project. We had 30 houses in the Marshall Fire, and we didn't lose a single one. I attribute it to a great extent to the Hardie® fiber cement siding products.”
VISION House Sussex: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
James Hardie joined award-winning builder, Tim O’Brien Homes, on a new construction, a next generation home called VISION House Sussex. This project was completed in 2023 and brought together a variety of resilient products to create an attainable green home for working-class American families in the upper Midwest, including Hardie® siding.
VISION House Sussex was created as a blueprint for sustainable development, illustrating how resilient materials can be seamlessly integrated into beautiful designs. We showcased Hardie® Plank and Hardie® Shingle products at this home, seeking to maximize resiliency, durability and low maintenance solutions for the homeowner. In addition, our ColorPlus® Technology finishes ensure the color lasts longer than a typical on-site paint job and resists chipping, peeling, cracking, and fading. This long-lasting durability helps reduce waste over the lifecycle of the home without sacrificing curb appeal.
Queen of Zero: Washington, DC
This rebuilt historic home will be completed in late 2024 and is located in the Washington, DC area. The original home was destroyed in a tragic fire. Rebuilding a historic home to be future-ready is a challenge. Symbi Homes is adapting the Victorian design to a modern standard of efficiency, comfort and resilience.
While still in the early stages of construction, the Queen of Zero home will soon feature Hardie® products as an important element in updating a historic home to achieve net-zero standard of higher performance. Not only does James Hardie offer a wide variety of products and textures that match the aesthetics and profiles of historic home designs, but many of our products also have Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs). James Hardie is focused on driving efficiency through water, energy and raw materials usage, recovering as much as possible, while delivering products that make our homes and communities more resilient. Ultimately, this home will preserve the history and beauty of the late 19th century, while building resilience for the climate reality of the 21st.
While distinctly unique to their region and design, each of these three homes tells a common sustainability story: What’s both inside and outside the home makes an impact. James Hardie is proud to be an important element of each, demonstrating that it’s possible for all homes to be future ready.
Jill Kolling joined James Hardie as Vice President, ESG & Chief Sustainability Officer in March 2022. Ms. Kolling and her team are responsible for development and execution of James Hardie’s global ESG strategy, ensuring integration with the company’s overall business strategy and ensuring the ESG strategy is an enabler of future growth.
*Hardie® siding complies with ASTM E136 as a noncombustible cladding and is recognized by fire departments across the U.S. including Chicago, IL, St. Paul, MN, Flagstaff, AZ, and Wayne County, OH.
