Does the idea of living in a stunning new contemporary Hamptons home with zero energy bills sound like a pipe dream to you?  Not anymore.  Enter the ethos of Modern NetZero (MNZ), a design/build firm that is creating the homes of the future on the East End.  A new category of homes that employs architecture, design, and technology to improve quality of life while lowering living costs as well as environmental impact.

Modern NetZero co-founders Marc and Anna Clejan share, “Our unique Net Zero design is achieved by combining solar, geothermal, LED, insulation technology and passive design, resulting in a sustainable lifestyle that is financially smart.  Over the course of a year, our proven technologies save a home owner approximately $15K – $30K.  Even better, our homes have virtually no ongoing carbon footprint so they won’t contribute to pollution or climate change. The only footprint you will leave will be in the sand.”

What inspired you to launch Modern Net Zero?

Marc Clejan: I started GreenLogic in 2005 to offer green technology solutions (solar, wind, geothermal) to homeowners and businesses.  Over that timeframe, we worked on thousands of projects and found that most new home designs were not able to take full advantage of today’s amazing new green technologies.  We recognized the gap and launched MNZ.  Because the Hamptons is a very demanding market where customers expect the very best, we realized that if we can win over this market then we know our homes would be successful anywhere.

How does the architecture of a Modern Net Zero home differ from traditional designs?

Marc Clejan: Architecture and design is not only a business and a science at Modern Net Zero, they’re also a passion and a calling which we utilize to help us live in harmony with the environment.  The guiding principle in our modernist designs is that form follows function: everything is there for a reason.  Our goal is to build a progressive green home that is comfortably beautiful, full of light, healthy to live in, connects its occupants to the outdoors, and is net zero.  This provides a very focused architectural and design criteria for all decisions that are made.

Why was it so important for you to live in the first MNZ home you built?

Marc Clejan: Yes.  We lived in our first MNZ Hamptons house to ensure that the technology met our expectations.  After a full year, we confirmed that it produced as much energy as it consumed, and was in fact a true net zero house.  We have completed six homes, and are currently building 2-3 homes this year in the Hamptons.  As we build out our processes and carefully grow our team, we will expand that number while keeping the product perfect.  We have developed a streamlined design/build process that allows us to complete a home within 12 months.  Our process is not only faster for our clients, it also saves them a great deal in design and construction costs.

Anna, tell us about your role at Modern Net Zero?

Anna Clejan: I bring my background as an artist and designer to direct MNZ’s interior efforts, making sure that no interior design compromises are made to accommodate the technology and engineering we put into the house.  We want our clients to have their cake and eat it too: a drop dead architecturally stunning and green energy house that is also comfortable and luxurious to live in.

You are also a shaman. How does your energy work play into MNZ projects?

Anna Clejan: Good design contributes to a sense of well-being and outlook on life.  At MNZ the word “energy” is used not just to describe the ‘net zero’ technology of the home, energy is also used to describe the ‘energetic practices’ that we apply to each house and the ‘energy’ and flow of the interior spaces.  Using shamanic practices, we clear the energy of the land before we begin every project.  We set our intention for each project: peace, harmony, happiness, prosperity, good health, balance to name a few. So right off the bat, our projects have a clear direction.

How does Mother Nature play pivotal role at MNZ?

Anna Clejan: We love the connection our homes have to the outdoors.  Through all the well-placed glass and windows in indoor/outdoor spaces, Mother Nature provides our “artwork”. Our approach is to live in balance and harmony with nature.  Once the home is complete, we incorporate another shamanic practice, called a “Despacho”.   In this event we give thanks to the earth for providing us with all of its abundance, we give thanks to the land for providing us with a foundation for our home and for entrusting us and the future homeowner as the caretakers of the land.  We invite the animals that have been displaced during the construction to come back to their home and we thank them.

What are your thoughts on the future of architecture & building?

Marc Clejan: Architecture & building will have to finally evolve like all other major industries. Technology, systems and design will permit easily adaptable, cost effective, and green.  It will no longer be about the ego of the architect, but simply about better product.  We are creating truly progressive and unique architectural designs, that represent the house of the future.

Like Tesla created a revolutionary car, we are creating a revolutionary method of building and selling homes by bringing IT principles to car manufacturing.  In 10 years, you will be able to sit down at your computer, design and configure your super cool, net zero home, have it built and delivered in 6 months at ½ the cost of today’s custom house.

Also the house will produce enough energy to power your electric car, so they will be net zero as well! – 60% of all energy today is consumed by the built structures and cars, so this will radically reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions – moving us into a much greener future.

*For more information go to modernnetzero.com