Skoda | Design & Architecture, PLLC

When considering a new home or building, developers and homeowners are often confronted with a choice: whether to retrofit an existing building, or tear it down and build a new one? Which one is better for climate change?

Among building energy experts, it is commonly understood that existing buildings, even after being upgraded for energy efficiency, cannot ever perform as well in terms of energy efficiency as a new building will. Therefore it seems that it should be better – in terms of overall energy-use – to build new rather than update existing buildings.  However, due to the immense amount of greenhouse …

The American Dream has always been to become a property owner, which in modern times, means owning a home. But homeownership is increasingly becoming a challenge for the average American as the cost of new homes and new home construction continue to rise.

The average homeowner in the US pays 25 to 33 percent of their income on their home mortgage payment. Before the housing bubble burst, banks were letting homeowners buy homes with mortgages that accounted for 45 percent of their income. As a result, homeowners are having trouble paying for their homes. What’s more, other commodities used in the home …