Green Architecture & Natural Building

for Healthy, Ecological & Modern Living

Featured Projects

Please look through our edited portfolio of projects to learn more about ecological architecture or visit our
Services page to see how we can co-create your dream green home.

Southwest side with view of master bedroom and solar panels.

BOB

A net-zero, straw bale home in Delaware with universal access.

Random size windows.

TARA & JERRY

Sunroom addition with green roof and masonry stove bring warmth and rootedness.

Beth's renovation Wood burning hearth and living room.

BETH

Honoring the heritage of a home and land passed down through four generations.

New sunroom with fan.

LINDA

A sunroom and screened porch addition to open the house up to the site.

Arshia and John Dining porch treehouse

ARSHIA & JOHN

New addition and floating porch expands the interior spaces for a growing family.

Exterior path along south facing wall.

ANETTA & CHARLES

An example of Universal Design for a home built for the land it sits on.

Helicon Works Architects

At Helicon Works Architects we’ve been practicing green architecture and natural building since 1989. Each project is a unique exploration, seeking the most ecologically conscious response to both client and place. We can help you design and build your new home, add onto or remodel your existing home.

Led by Bill Hutchins, Principal Architect and founder of HWA, our knowledgeable team and group of collaborators will engage with you in a thoughtful exploration and co-creative process to evolve a design solution that merges your needs and the site’s attributes.

From the onset, our work is imbued with a sustainable approach, technical know-how, environmental consciousness and spiritual considerations so that your Home becomes a reflection of who you are within the intimate relationship with its place and context. Learn more about Our Approach.

Our green architecture studio is based in the Washington DC metro area, but we’ve also carried out work in Mexico, California and Vermont, amongst other places. We offer design, documentation, and educational services to guide you through every step of the process.

Dining room and open plan Kitchen.

MELISSA & GEOFF

A complete renovation and small addition turns into a playful, imaginative home for a growing family.

Gary's new home

GARY

A large ecological home for the unfolding of a family, with plenty of space for friends, animals and a lot of life.

We strive to provide a place where you can feel comfortable to explore your vision of home; a place where experience and an understanding for healthy and mindful living are our greatest assets.

Sitting room made from straw bale.

BETH & BILL

A home re-imagined with straw bale, natural plaster construction, green roofs and creative building.

Living room with lots of natural light and wood beams.

JULIANNA & JOE

An ecological home in keeping with a traditional farmhouse.

Rather than making a grand presence on the street, the home lingers in a protected opening.

RETIRED COUPLE

A completely accessible home that meets Universal Design standards and Montgomery County's Design for Life program.

Featured Projects

Please look through our edited portfolio of projects to learn more about ecological architecture or visit our
Services page to see how we can co-create your dream green home.

Southwest side with view of master bedroom and solar panels.

BOB

A net-zero, straw bale home in Delaware with universal access.

Random size windows.

TARA & JERRY

Sunroom addition with green roof and masonry stove bring warmth and rootedness.

Beth's renovation Wood burning hearth and living room.

BETH

Honoring the heritage of a home and land passed down through four generations.

New sunroom with fan.

LINDA

A sunroom and screened porch addition to open the house up to the site.

Arshia and John Dining porch treehouse

ARSHIA & JOHN

New addition and floating porch expands the interior spaces for a growing family.

Exterior path along south facing wall.

ANETTA & CHARLES

An example of Universal Design for a home built for the land it sits on.

Dining room and open plan Kitchen.

MELISSA & GEOFF

A complete renovation and small addition turns into a playful, imaginative home for a growing family.

Gary's new home

GARY

A large ecological home for the unfolding of a family, with plenty of space for friends, animals and a lot of life.

Sitting room made from straw bale.

BETH & BILL

A home re-imagined with straw bale, natural plaster construction, green roofs and creative building.

Living room with lots of natural light and wood beams.

JULIANNA & JOE

An ecological home in keeping with a traditional farmhouse.

Rather than making a grand presence on the street, the home lingers in a protected opening.

RETIRED COUPLE

A completely accessible home that meets Universal Design standards and Montgomery County's Design for Life program.

Helicon Works Architects

At Helicon Works Architects we’ve been practicing green architecture and natural building since 1989. Each project is a unique exploration, seeking the most ecologically conscious response to both client and place. We can help you design and build your new home, add onto or remodel your existing home.

Led by Bill Hutchins, Principal Architect and founder of HWA, our knowledgeable team and group of collaborators will engage with you in a thoughtful exploration and co-creative process to evolve a design solution that merges your needs and the site’s attributes.

From the onset, our work is imbued with a sustainable approach, technical know-how, environmental consciousness and spiritual considerations so that your Home becomes a reflection of who you are within the intimate relationship with its place and context. Learn more about Our Approach.

Our green architecture studio is based in the Washington DC metro area, but we’ve also carried out work in Mexico, California and Vermont, amongst other places. We offer design, documentation, and educational services to guide you through every step of the process.

We strive to provide a place where you can feel comfortable to explore your vision of home; a place where experience and an understanding for healthy and mindful living are our greatest assets.

Inspirational Projects

We hope to inspire you to delve deeper into Ecological Living through two projects that mean a lot to us; whether through meditative exercises and reflection or hands on learning, both projects will give you the opportunity to learn more about
Ecological Architecture & Living.

DWELLING to Make Home

Bill's latest Book and Project, DWELLING, is an exploration and response to Ecological Living in its deepest sense. Beyond context, materials, or building techniques, DWELLING provides ways to spiritually connect to your Home, to provide a sense of Place and weave relationships with everything that surrounds you.

As an integral part of Helicon Works Architects, the DWELLING explorations further catalyse your own process of personal growth to weave them into your home.

At its core, DWELLING offers ways for you to further create spaces that make you feel alive, nurture your soul and help you thrive.

Kevin Rohan Memorial Eco Foundation

Since 2009 Helicon Works Architects has collaborated with KRMEF, teaching natural building techniques with earthen plaster, bamboo and thatch, and using recycled materials such as waste glass bottles. Since then, Bill has continued to travel to Nepal, offering ways to develop KRMEF, as well as building a library, farming education buildings, orphanage, playground and school.

Bill also developed the KRMEF board in the US, whose primary work is to raise funds, offer support developing programs and find interns.

KRMEF continues to thrive as a heart-centered foundation and community.

Ecological architecture & natural building news, inspiration & project updates.

Sign up to our newsletter and download A Sneak Peak of Dwelling, with excerpts from the Dwelling Book by Bill Hutchins.