Sustainable luxury is coming to Old Town Fort Collins, Colorado, in 2027 in the form of La Vie Lumière, a compact community of 15 townhomes. 

Laurie and Bob Davis, of Davis Davis Architects, aim to address what they see as an urgent climate crisis through their projects.

It’s Davis Davis’s goal to demonstrate that high-end living can coexist while doing right by our planet.

“We’re 8 billion people and counting, and we need to be good stewards of the world’s resources for future generations,” Laurie explains.

Previously, the architects developed L’Avenir, an energy-independent building of four townhomes built with natural materials and streamlined designs. 

“As design professionals, we want to help our clients understand sustainable choices and climate-sensitive solutions,” Laurie says.

L’Avenir features geothermal heating and cooling, solar panels, induction stoves, and other beautiful features with the dual purpose of minimizing impact on the earth.

This new development, La Vie Lumière, will be located at the former location of Community of Christ Church in Fort Collins.

Sustainable European Design 

La Vie Lumière will incorporate design philosophies shaped by the couple’s European education and travel experiences. 

While living in Paris and Rome, Laurie grew to appreciate the community-oriented living featuring more efficient designs in smaller spaces, all the while balanced by frequented public ones. 

Bob, on the other hand, dove into Danish architecture at The Royal Danish Academy in Copenhagen. An expert in Scandinavian design, his designs focus on drawing in natural light and using natural materials. 

The name of the new luxury living homes comes from French, meaning both “living in light” and “living lightly.” Their designs represent both.

Inspired heavily by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto’s philosophy of maximizing natural light through simple, elegant forms, the development will feature floor-to-ceiling French windows and ten-foot ceilings. These elements create bright rooms, bright, welcoming interiors.

“The higher the window, the deeper the daylighting zone. More light can come in, bounce off the floor, and reflect back into space,” Laurie explains. 

How Fort Collins is Working Towards a Sustainable Future

The couple specifically wanted to also align with Fort Collins’ climate goals.

The city’s Our Climate Future plan aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

Their specific initiatives include greatly reducing greenhouse gas emissions, reaching 100% renewable electricity use, and achieving zero landfill waste by 2030.

“It’s not commonly talked about, but typical building materials and approaches often impact our health and harm our planet,” Laurie says. “As architects, we need our work to address these challenges through healthy and sustainable choices, but we absolutely can’t forget about making something beautiful and 

The Technology Behind Sustainable Building

Sustainability was at the forefront of Davis Davis’s plan.  

The build goes all out on sustainable innovation: extra-thick walls with blown-in cellulose in the wall cavity and three inches of continuous exterior insulation made of rockwool, an inert natural material made from spun rock that provides superior thermal performance. 

“Rockwool is much better than using foam, which is what people generally do when they put insulation on the exterior,” Bob notes. “Expanded polyurethane foam is not only a global greenhouse gas emitter, but chemical exposure can also be bad for the construction workers installing it. It’s just not a sustainable material.”

It’s also fireproof and mold-resistant.

The townhomes provide incredible energy efficiency. Thoughtful features like the extra insulation, advanced air-sealing techniques and triple-glazed windows provide maximum bang-for-buck.

Each unit includes an energy recovery ventilator (ERV) that continuously exchanges stale indoor air. This system provides high-quality indoor air quality without wasting energy on heating or cooling.

All 15 units will be completely net-zero energy through solar power integration. The architects are exploring Fort Collins’ shared energy system (SES), which would allow multiple rooftop solar installations to function as a single system, distributing clean energy across all units regardless of the roof orientation.

“This innovative approach enables us to bring energy independence to the homes with less direct sun exposure, like those with roofs in building shadows or without a southern-facing exposure,” Bob says. 

Community-Driven Sustainable Development

They aren’t your average developers. 

Instead of costs and schedules, they discuss the planet and shared values.

The La Vie Lumière development team is the result of a close collaboration between residential neighbors and business owners who want to make a positive impact on their local community. 

One team member fittingly calls it “the light that keeps illuminating the way forward.”   

For example, the team saved all reusable building materials on a recent church demolition. They worked with Circular Building Materials Co. of Gunbarrel, Colorado, to carefully deconstruct the building rather than demolishing it by diverting fixtures, millwork, furniture, concrete and metals from landfills to local nonprofits and recyclers. 

This process also created 556 hours of paid local labor and helped avoid significant CO2 emissions — an amount equal to the emissions of four U.S. households in a year.    

“The circular economy goal is to keep things in use for as long as possible,” Laurie explains. “You don’t throw away things that aren’t broken. When you demolish a building sustainably, you want those things to be reused or repurposed or recycled.”

European Indoor-Outdoor Living With a Luxury Twist

Davis and Davis agree that sustainable living doesn’t have to mean basic. The townhomes have luxury elements like European tilt-turn windows for maximum light and ventilation to bring in fresh air securely. 

Every unit includes outdoor spaces on both east and west sides, and some bigger townhomes have rooftop decks with Colorado foothills views.  

The intention is for residents to gather around a central courtyard garden with eight native trees for shade and a variety of flowering plants and grasses.

Certification Standards, Market Timing and Availability

Construction began in 2025, with completion estimated in 2027.

The development is pursuing multiple sustainability certifications, including LEED Platinum, U.S. Department of Energy Zero Energy Ready Home, and U.S. EPA WaterSense. 

Their sustainability standards are also focused on materials selection, site planning, water conservation and indoor air quality. Contractors will also be involved. They are required to separate all construction waste into identifiable categories for recycling to promote responsible resource management.

A Net-Zero Fort Collins is Coming Soon

Fort Collins is already known for its progressive environmental policies. The city’s climate action goals align with the development’s net-zero aspirations.

“Fort Collins has a very sustainably minded plan for the city,” Bob observes. “The utilities department helps builders and architects and developers apply sustainable practices and offers incentives for those who do.”

La Vie Lumière could set a new standard for luxury residential development in Fort Collins and other communities. 

As climate concerns and energy costs continue to grow, developments like La Vie Lumière offer a glimpse into a future where homes actively contribute to environmental solutions while providing exceptional comfort and style. 

La Vie Lumière townhomes will appeal to environmentally conscious buyers who value both luxury, a European-style community and sustainability. Visit lalumiereliving.com for construction updates and other details.