A Green Scene at Founding Farmers

Founding Farmers, a restaurant at 1924 Pennsylvania Ave. NW that opened five months ago, takes green design to a new level. The restaurant not only ladles out organic oatmeal, it surrounds customers with Earth-friendly interiors combining recycled whitewashed barn wood and high-efficiency lighting.

As eco-living continues to entrench itself in American culture, more and more businesses are adopting the credo of reduce, reuse and recycle to be community-spirited, as well as to attract environmentally aware customers. The business plan at Founding Farmers is as much about the menu as the sustainable practices. Chef Graham Duncan and his staff turn out line-caught wild Alaskan salmon and organic vodka cocktails while using the most efficient Energy Star appliances and plumbing fixtures that reduce energy and water consumption.

The restaurant has a style you might call modern barn. The focus is on energy efficiency and extensive recycling, as well as a connection to nature. The interior architecture and decor by Core Architecture + Design incorporate wood flooring reclaimed from a Georgia textile mill, wall coverings made partially of post-consumer waste and tables and chairs crafted by Dunbar out of locally sourced walnut. "The reclaimed beam framework creates a grid that is something like the structure of a barn," says Peter Hapstak, a founding partner of Core.

Founding Farmers, whose primary owners are a collective of more than 40,000 American family farmers, has been designated a Certified Green Restaurant. It has been designed to meet the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) gold certification. If certified after a review process, it would be the first LEED restaurant in the District, according to Ashley Katz, spokeswoman for the Green Building Council.

Hapstak says the idea for the all-green focus came directly from the farmers. "There was a natural tendency for them to think about this, and we were almost compelled to go in this direction based on who we were working with and the message," he says. Hapstak says the additional costs were only about 5 to 10 percent. "The costs of so many environmentally safe products have come down as government guidelines have changed," he added.

Nestled beside the imposing International Monetary Fund building, the restaurant is constructed of materials associated with rural living, such as well-worn wood and steel roofing panels. You won't find any quilts, but the two-story modern space has warm touches. The concrete counters are softened by the overhead lighting: Clumps of fluffy floating clouds made of fireproof fabric are illuminated from within, and ceramic black or white bird-shaped pendant lights flock over the seating. Communal dining tables were left with a natural edge that follows the contours of the wood. Silo-shaped booths are partitioned off by resin wall panels embedded with reeds.

Even details reflect the greener good. No bottled water is served; instead, old-fashioned glass milk bottles are brought to each table filled with D.C. tap water that is filtered in-house. Menus are printed on recycled paper with soy-based ink. Only green cleaning products that do not harm the environment are used. There are low-flush toilets and touch-free Dyson Airblade hand dryers. Rows of large jars in the foyer are filled with peaches, carrots and beets from a West Virginia farmer.

Customers ask lots of questions about design specifics and request kitchen tours, says Christian L. Holmes, the restaurant's general manager. "They want to know what LEED-certified means and what farms we get our food from. People are very interested in sustainable living, the whole thing," says Holmes. "They are holding us accountable."