Just because we’re stuck at home doesn’t mean we can’t reach out and learn from those who inspire us. Design editor Kiley Jacques sat down virtually with architect Al Tozer to talk about the design and construction of the world’s first Living Building Challenge residential project, a house he calls Desert Rain.

Al Tozer

Educator, former non-profit director, former resident of Spain, and architect, Al Tozer brings two degrees in Biology, an international perspective and over 25 years of sustainable architectural expertise to his eponymous, high-desert design studio located in Bend, Oregon. Recognized as one of the Pacific Northwest’s leading deep-green architectural firms, Tozer Design served as the lead design firm for “Desert Rain” a LEED Platinum, multifamily residential compound, and the world’s first Certified Living Building residential project.

Al has served as a City of Bend Planning Commissioner and co-authored Bend’s General Plan. He is an advocate of mixed-use development, passionately anti-sprawl and has tirelessly encouraged Bend-area developers and elected officials to incentivize infill development.

In 2018 Al took a brief hiatus from architecture to support others in pursuit of the world’s most impactful green building standard and served as the Living Building Challenge Director at the International Living Future Institute in Seattle, Washington. Now back to Bend and the drawing board, Al’s architecture studio is currently serving as the project and design lead on several deep-green, net zero energy homes, including “River Sol,” a riverfront, infill duplex pursuing Living Certification.

Learn more about the Living Building Challenge:

Extreme-Green Desert Rain – The world’s first Living Building Challenge-certified home is a study in integrated, sustainable design.

Living Building Challenge– a streamlined approach focused on maximizing positive impacts specific to the place, community, and culture of construction projects.