Construction at 89 Linden Lane in Princeton. (click to expand)

Earlier this week, local architect Kirsten Thoft was awarded LEED-Platinum designation for her new home on Linden Lane. Linden Lane looks set to become the LEED capital of Princeton, because just up the street, another home is set to achieve LEED-Platinum status. At a ‘Behind the Drywall’ tour this weekend, we saw how one local resident has planned a truly sustainable home.

Designed by David E Cohen architects and constructed by Baxter Construction, the new-build home at 89 Linden Lane (Linden and Hamilton) includes many of the most up-to-date fittings to make it as environmentally-friendly as possible (green roof, solar panels, tankless hot water heater etc etc).

David Cohen and Jim Baxter, who are leading the design and contraction (click to expand.)

This location is highly walkable, which earns points on the LEED scale. But perhaps the most interesting feature is how the home got built. The owner purchased the house on the corner of Linden and Hamilton, and added the new home on the large lot to the south. The two homes are connected in the middle:

Adding on at Linden Lane. The red house is original, the green house is new. (click to expand.)

The owner is living in the original house for now, but when the new building is complete, she will move in there. At that point, she plans to sell the old house, providing capital to cover the cost of constructing the LEED house.

Old and new- the original house and new build at Hamilton and Linden Lane. (click to expand)

We wrote previously about the possibility of splitting lots to provide more walkable homes in Princeton, and this example shows that it can work (with the help of careful planning, a big lot, and a good lawyer!). The new home is the epitome of sustainability and good design, and fits in well in the neighborhood.

Check out more photos at the owner’s own blog at “Princeton LEED: A (Green) House Grows In Princeton“! Congratulations to all involved!

What do you think of this house? Would you live there? Would you like to see more homes like this in Princeton? Let us know in the comments section below.