The VISION House Asheville represents the future of housing with its sustainable, resilient and affordable design.

Creative Founder Design Studio

Asheville, NC is a unique tourist destination that fewer than 100,000 people call home. It represents many other small towns across the U.S. in its government and operations, yet also has parallels to other distinct and highly-sought culture and tech hubs like Austin and Portland.

Due to its popularity, Asheville is feeling the stress of the nation’s housing crisis. The city is a market that needs custom, infill, more affordable homes that fit into the community, making it the perfect home for the future of housing.

According to HR\&A Advisor’s HousingWeaver data, in Asheville it takes 16.2 years for the median renter household to save 10% of their income to make a 20% down payment on an average home, much higher than the national average of 12.8 years. In 2025, Asheville’s typical home value was $467,000, 51% higher than the average $309,000 in 2019.

Typical home prices in Asheville are now 6.2 times higher than the median household income overall, and 9 times higher than the median renter household income.

Much like the rest of the country, Asheville isn’t safe from climate hazards, most recently the city was hit by Hurricane Helene, a storm that caused fatalities from flooding, landslides and collapsing infrastructure.

These challenges set the scene for a landmark project that explores these housing parameters and offers a new solution that can act as a proactive, preventative solution.

Alair Homes Gives Shape To The Future Of Housing

Green Builder Media and Alair Homes, a network of custom home builders and renovators, are building the VISION House Asheville to explore how resilience, wellness, and long-term affordability can redefine the value of homeownership across the country.

This real-world case study for high-performance housing will demonstrate how to achieve resilient housing that delivers health and wellness, comfort, lower operations costs, and at the same time, look beautiful. The design and construction processes developed by Alair Asheville \| Red Tree are being shared as a guide to Alair’s network of nearly 100 local builders in Canada and the U.S. and to others committed to better building practices.

“After the hurricane, we were down 38% on new building permits,” said Brandon Bryant, partner at Alair Asheville \| Red Tree. “It was our twentieth year in business, and we had to figure out how to meet the demand of today. So, we started on green building and then indoor air quality and net zero positive.”

Asheville, North Carolina, represents many cities across the country that are growing and need sustainable, resilient, affordable housing.

Kovacs

Home buyers are attracted to the climate in Asheville and the natural environment. With that in mind, the house was designed as a more modern version of a craftsman design with big slider windows and a corner window that are creates strong architectural details without taking up living space.

“What I didn’t like about green building is that people were just taking things off the shelf and calling it green but it needed a holistic approach,” Bryant said. “We brought back the front porch for connectivity and a courtyard with a connection to nature, the earth, and neighbors, so you are not just siloed. This house can make them healthier and it’s all design elements, it’s not costing more money.”

These no cost features are all a result of the intentionality of the design and the collaboration of the builder and architect.

“We’re starting to see more wellness architecture,” said Jared Moore, founder and principal architect at Creative Founder Design Studio who designed the VISION House in Asheville. “There are a lot of ways to accomplish that within the spatial requirements of the home and with general architectural practices. It’s in a mountain setting and has alignment with a view to the mountains and nature and by connecting to the outdoors from inside, you feel more connected to the land.”

Connecting to nature isn’t the only way to unwind in this house. There is an exhale room, which is a WiFi and technology dead zone. Homeowners can enter the space that is hidden by a bookshelf to retreat or detach from the rest of the world.

He used both passive and active strategies such as orienting the home for optimal natural light along with shades that will open and close automatically which leads to better sleep. The team selected low voltage lighting to reduce exposure to EMFs.

The home faces south so the porch to avoid heating up the house, and is also shaded by a generous overhang. The house has a tight envelope, triple-pane windows, and an HVAC unit, to lower the energy load. Energy is also produced by solar panels and then sent to batteries and controlled by Savant’s smart meter, which also can connect to an EV charging station.

Indoor water and air will be controlled by systems for optimal health and filtration.

When complete in fall 2027, the home will list above the average home price in Asheville, but its operations will cost nothing. No operational costs comes from these design elements and a careful selection of products.

Products Building Housing’s Future

The VISION House takes advantage of products that are durable and resilient to protect owners for the long term.

Creative Founder Design Studio

Manufacturers are recognizing the need for high performance materials and solutions that can deliver on health and wellness for homeowners, not to mention innovative new product for increasing climate threats.

Dal-Tile will be installed in multiple applications inside and outside of the home. Manufactured in the U.S. with low or zero silica, it offers healthy options that also can be bold, dramatic, textured, and even offer handcrafted looks that seem like wallpaper.

“There is more intention on indoor air quality and sensitivity to products going into homes,” said Mike Profilio, vice president of the builder channel at Dal-Tile. “There are concerns about IAQ and putting a durable product in a home that does not contain VOCs.”

These stand out features keep ceramic tile relevant in what sometimes can be perceived as the race to the bottom. Even though tile costs a bit more than alternatives and has a labor-intensive installation, it is still selected for its long lifecycle, its contribution to indoor air quality, and its resiliency to fire and water damage.

Josh Webb, senior national account manager at Dal-Tile says many custom home builders are transitioning their thinking from price per square foot to value per square foot and specifying Dal-Tile for its sustainability features.

Dal-Tile is paying attention to other trends, such as aging in place and launched Stepwise tile that is 50% more slip resistant without impacting the tile’s aesthetics.

“Tile is durable for wet areas, but for areas of the home like around the pool or large bathrooms with large walk in showers its important for it to be slip resistant,” Profilio said.

And, when tile gets wet, it’s susceptible to mold and mildew, which is why Dal-Tile introduced its Defend product line that is powered by Microband. Protection is baked into an anti-microbial glaze that is applied to the surface and blocks 99% of bacteria growth.

Dal-Tile was just one of many products selected for sustainable, resilient features.

James Hardie fiber cement siding was selected for its noncombustible, moisture and pest resistance, and ability to stand up to weather extremes. It doesn’t compromise the look of the home either--the VISION House has both Hardie Artisan Lap Siding for a more architectural look and Hardie Panel for a clean, modern vertical aesthetic. The house is outfitted with DuPont’s Tyvek weather barrier system for a more durable, comfortable, and energy-efficient home against rain, wind, and moisture intrusion.

KOHLER fixtures are throughout the house and feature the WaterSense label, a certification that highlights efficient water use and sustainability. The VISION House also uses Phyn’s whole-home water intelligence system to catch problems early, prevent damage, and understand exactly how water is being used. It monitors the home’s plumbing using high-definition pressure wave analysis and can automatically shut off the water if a leak is detected. It has sensors that can trigger alerts or an audible alarm as it monitors for humidity and freeze conditions.

Water use outside is important as well. Aquor provides a cleaner, smarter approach to outdoor water use with a leak-free, frost-free connection that can reduce drips, hassle, and long-term maintenance.

A smart product ecosystem had to be selected for holistic energy management. JinkoSolar EAGLE Residential Modules all-black solar panels will capture the sun’s energy from the roof of the VISION House, reducing energy costs over time. The panels will be paired with Savant’s smart home automation, energy management, and whole-home controls to have it all together on one platform. The integrated system will monitor and manage energy use, optimize clean power from the solar array, and control the home’s key systems.

One of the biggest energy demands is heating and cooling the house. Daikin’s high-performance HVAC will reduce energy use, limit temperature swings, manage humidity, and do it all quietly, adding to sleep comfort.

While mechanical systems shouldn’t be making noise, the resident will be able to boost their mood with some good tunes. The Sonos integrated home audio system will be delivered with speakers that blend into the walls and ceilings for a clean, elevated look.

With the right, carefully calculated design and product selection, the VISION House Asheville is delivering on multiple aspects of housing for the future, but showing and sharing it as a template demands a quantifiable approach.

Bringing Housing’s Future To The Market

Data from the house will be available through smart systems, sensors, and careful analysis when it is in full operations. Alair Homes \| Red Tree will be putting together the key insights, along with the design, construction and operational successes and failures to make the industry smarter and more capable to handle tomorrow’s housing demands.

Dedicated to being an environmental steward, the project’s carbon footprint will be measured and offset through Green Builder Media's COGNITION Carbon Offsets Marketplace.

To see this home of the future, there will be several events, including a charity event with a local James Beard award winning chef and it will be featured in the Asheville Parade of Homes both held in fall 2027.