"I hate plain vanilla."
   
It's a sweltering summer day and architect Gabriel Kroiz makes this bold statement while navigating the sun-bleached concrete alleyways behind Eastern Avenue. Kroiz isn't talking about ice cream; he's referring to the typical Baltimore rowhouse rehab, or what is commonly known as The Gut. "Everyone sees a shell," Kroiz says of Baltimore's prevalent renovation trend to clean out an interior and start from scratch. "There's certainly an advantage to that. You can modernize the floor plan."
   
But when Kroiz, founder and principal of Kroiz Architecture, purchased a dilapidated alley house on Winterling Court near his Fells Point home and office, he was determined to do something different. "I'm not satisfied with the plain-vanilla result you generally get with these rehabs," he says.
   
Kroiz, who has been a devotee of sustainable materials throughout his fifteen-year career, decided to use this project to develop an environmental rowhouse prototype, incorporating the latest in eco-products and thinking. Kroiz understands that sustainability is more than just fixtures and furniture; it's also a philosophy. His self-dubbed "greenhab" incorporates the key elements of sustainability—it uses an existing building and site; it makes efficient use of energy, water, and other resources; and it uses recycled and other sustainable materials in its construction.
   
Normally when entering a new rehab, the astringent smell of fresh paint hits the nose, but when walking through the front door of Kroiz's greenhab, visitors are welcomed with a pleasant whiff of wheat. The place actually smells natural, an effect of the newly installed walls that are constructed from wheatboard, a nontoxic particleboard made from wheat stalk agricultural byproduct. While wheatboard costs more than basic drywall, Kroiz notes that it doesn't require the additional expense of mudding, sanding, and painting, and it will age well with the home.
   
Kroiz makes excellent use of the interior square footage, a mere 725 square feet. He reconfigured the original floor plan, moving the only bathroom—which had been located in a cinderblock addition at the back of the house—to the second floor next to the bedroom. This opened up the back of the house to natural daylight, which floods in through new glass French doors that open onto a landscaped patio. The uncomplicated, open floor plan includes a living room, a kitchen, and a back den or dining area on the first floor; and a bedroom, bathroom, and laundry area/closet on the second floor. "Spaces
can be very simple and flexible, allowing people to figure out how to use them and rearrange them," Kroiz says of the layout. "By having that simple floor plan, I could really put my energy into the building materials."
   
The materials, like bamboo flooring and concrete, tie together to create a warm and natural interior. Mark Melonas of Luke Works hand-trawled the concrete counters in the kitchen and created the wheatboard cabinets, while Dave Parker (formerly of Nlightn Design) fabricated the counter's metal work. Kroiz exposed the cinderblock in the back of the house, which reflects the stone-like quality of the concrete in the kitchen. "Red brick is such a dominant presence in Baltimore, and I didn't jump to the conclusion that I should expose it," Kroiz says. "I think the gray goes with the whole palate of the house."
  
 Heavily influenced by his design work in South Korea, where living space is at a premium, Kroiz put the small interior to good use. In the kitchen, a food preparation area can be transformed into a wet bar when company comes over by sliding a shoji-inspired "screen" made from eco-friendly Homasote across the appliances. The same screen hides the hot water heater, skillfully tucked under the stairs, which were designed by Kroiz and made from construction-grade yellow pine from Walbrook Mill and Lumber Company and electrical conduit for the railing.
   
Upstairs, Kroiz continues the space-saving design features by creating a "wet" bathroom or "shower room," where the shower is attached to the wall and open to the rest of the room. What looks like expensive stone flooring is really just basic tile from The Home Depot installed polished-side down to look more natural.
   
In the center of the upstairs level, Kroiz exposed a few wood beams in the ceiling and added a skylight. He designed his own light fixtures, including an ingeniously simple pendant ceiling lamp, which he created from a galvanized rain gutter attached to wire, with a fluorescent bulb cradled inside.
   
The appliances throughout the house are space-saving and energy-efficient, like the one-piece washer/dryer by LG Electronics. "You put the clothes in, press the button, take them out, and they're done," Kroiz says.
   
Kroiz proves that efficiency, economy, and thoughtful use of materials can transform even the smallest space into a stylish and functional dwelling. Even the choice of the house is noteworthy. The modest alley house is an endangered building type in Baltimore, having been destroyed over the years to make way for larger development. A truly sustainable city, Kroiz understands, is one that incorporates a variety of living options.
   
"The development template today is bigger and bigger and bigger," Kroiz says. "An alley house works very well for one or two people. It's reasonably priced and gives you a mix of incomes within a block, which makes for a more interesting neighborhood."
   
As for the growing market for sustainable living and building materials, Kroiz says that "the world is catching on. Baltimore hasn't quite gotten it yet—we don't have enough competitive contractors. But at some point, we will. Enough people will put these pieces together."

—Elizabeth A. Evitts is Urbanite's Editor-in-Chief.