Koffka Phakos Design has had a sustainable approach to architecture since our founding in 2002. In one notable project, we designed an addition to the 1940s home of a family of artists. A new tower inserted into the courtyard affords views across the Sunset Park neighborhood while capturing ocean breezes and eliminating the need for air conditioning. Demolition was kept to a minimum and construction waste was recycled. Principals Cynthia Phakos and Adrian Koffka are both LEED Accredited Professionals. Cynthia Phakos was a recent contributor to GreenHomeGuide’s Ask A Pro column.

As a certified Bau-Biologist and Environmental Consultant since 1989, Mary Cordaro has worked with many hundreds of clients from around the country, on everything from simple paint choices to full scale, new construction and major remodeling specifications. Her first major residential new construction project was completed in 1991, when she consulted on both troubleshooting and solving contaminant problems, as well as specifying new building and interior materials.  In addition to specifying healthy, ecological materials and systems, she has also worked with a large base of homeowners who have hired her to trouble shoot and solve indoor contaminant problems, resulting from and including moisture and mold, chemicals, and electromagnetic fields.

All of our projects, to some degree, are green homes.  We incorporate sustainable materials, natural ventilation and solar power in all our projects.  The McKinley residence embodies the green home ideal.  Solar and photovoltaic panels provide 70% of the family’s energy needs, and the materials, from structural to cladding to appliances, are all environmentally conscious.  David Hertz was LEED Accredited in 2004 and the firm is affiliated with several green organizations such as, USCBC, AIA COTE and EPS for the city of Santa Monica.  David has also been teaching a course on ecology and architecture at UCLA for over 10 years.

Mary Cordaro is the president and Founder of H3Environmental, Corp. specializing in healthy bedroom products, resources for diagnosing and solving “sick building syndrome”, and education. She synthesizes the fields of Bau-Biologie, Building Science, and green building with an overlay of the low consumption, ecological lifestyle.

Cordaro has been working in the field of healthy, ecological building since 1989 having started by extensively researching to correct problems in her own home. She then decided to use this knowledge to help her clients, many of whom, like herself, are either sensitive to conventional building and interior materials, or concerned about the manufacturing, use and disposal of materials and their effect on human and planetary health.

Global Green USA’s Green Building Resource Center provides free design advice and information about environmentally-friendly building products and strategies.