Residential Design
In our residential architecture practice, OPAL works closely with clients to craft beautiful and bespoke homes. We engage with clients in a focused architectural design process as collaborators and we see the development of a sustainable home as a deep dialog where we come together to create personal living spaces that are places of profound connection with family and the environment.
We understand that the process of designing a home is a significant and long-term relationship built on engagement, trust and commitment; to accomplish that we strive for clarity in all our communications. While every residential project is unique, we bring the highest standards of energy efficiency and sustainability to each project and work diligently to incorporate each client’s personal vision into designs that create meaningful and timeless homes.
The architectural design process begins with an in-depth conversation in which we invest ourselves in understanding every client’s unique vision for the project. Through close collaboration we develop design concepts that align, balance, and reconcile the realities of the site, program and budget throughout the design and construction process.
OPAL believes that all projects can seamlessly integrate quality design and high performance, resulting in buildings that are carefully detailed for aesthetics, durability and energy efficiency. The materials that we use in construction are carefully selected based on their integrity and environmental sustainability, prioritizing natural materials which create comfortable and healthy indoor surroundings.
Integral to our design process is building energy modeling, utilizing OPAL’s proprietary program to ensure that the building envelope’s thermal performance is optimized. Our mechanical system design utilizes highly energy-efficient air source heat pump systems for space heating and cooling, and to ensure healthy indoor air quality, heat recovery ventilation systems are installed. With the addition of solar panels on the roof, our buildings are net zero for operational energy on an annual basis and provide a high degree of resilience in the face of a changing and unpredictable climate.
We are committed to determining the optimum solutions to deliver the project by balancing the demands of budget, quality of work and schedule. We work closely with general contractors to realize the construction of the building and seek a collaborative working relationship to optimize the efficiency of translating design ideas into a reality.
OPAL is very much a Maine firm and our work reflects our deep appreciation of the landscape, climate, culture and architectural framework we find here. Our aesthetic approach starts with the elemental quality of the Maine landscape and traditional Maine architecture: the minimalistic, monolithic form and materials palette of the Cape and barn, with its spare exterior detailing, climate responsiveness and austerity. While our designs are not about replicating the Cape, we try to hold that same aesthetic line in all of our buildings. The shapes can differ, but we always strive for that minimalist quality and relationship to the environment.
When we reference modernism, we’re embracing contemporary concepts of space, light, clean lines and spare detailing. But instead of concrete and steel, we’re incorporating natural materials within the modernist language for a warmer, more humane response. Our work aligns with Scandinavian modernism, which we feel resonates strongly here in New England. Increasingly, we specify solid wood construction, in the form of cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels, which are beautiful, durable and offer the shortest path to a carbon-positive building.
Words from Our Clients
So much gratitude to Matt O’Malia and the OPAL team for meticulous design, planning and implementation of our bright and beautiful house. In spite of the restrictions imposed by an existing footprint, you created a place of serenity and transparency. CLT enhances the warmth and comfort while utilizing sustainable material.
– P.H.
OPAL designed our ‘aging-in-place’ home and provided quality architectural services from start to finish, including looking at our lot with us before we purchased it to see if it was suitable for the type of house we wanted. Additionally, they understood our budgetary restrictions and worked with us carefully to find a design/build that would meet our needs and still produce an attractive, passive solar home. The 1200 square-foot house was built to the highest international passive house standards and is a superior example of sustainable architecture. Our OPAL architect was always available to answer our many questions and to work through any glitches that occurred. Finally, despite a winter with the most snowfall in a year, OPAL completed the house on time, including having professional cleaners come in. OPAL’s devotion to sustainable architecture, careful attention to budgets, and its first rate work ethic gave us a “dream house” at an affordable price.
– L.S.
We adore our new home and have never felt confined but are privileged to watch the weather unfold while we are so comfortably sheltered. It’s the perfect balance between cozy and expansive, between the simplicity of its lines and the complexity of its efficiency, between its openness and its privacy. We are encouraging many native plants to surround it, from wintergreen to walnuts and look forward to watching that diversity develop. Many, many thanks.
– C.S.K.
