Seeing pages and pages of glossy magazine photos of sustainable homes replete with glass panels and a typically sleek, modern look might lead you to think that building an energy efficient home means buying into a specific style or predetermined features. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, just as with any custom-built home, the final product is determined by your choices. It's the architect's task to translate your desires for both a particular design and sustainable features into a perfect home for you.

To ensure you get what you want, what questions should you ask when you meet the person who holds your future house in their hands? Anne Nicklin, an architect in the sustainable design group at Gensler in San Francisco and a LEED-accredited professional, helps break down the most important questions and issues to discuss when you are shopping around for an architect to build your eco-dream home.

Things to ask the architect:

How will you, the architect, handle communication?
A big part of an architect's job is to coordinate the myriad professionals on your project and deal with problems, Nicklin says. The most difficult part of any house building comes when communication breaks down between the homeowner, architect, builder, engineers, landscape architects, and other professionals involved. The best way to avoid this kind of frustration is to lay out a communication plan: pre-arranged updates from the architect to homeowner on a daily, weekly, or biweekly basis; a guarantee that the architect will not make any major changes to the plans without consulting the homeowner first; and an explanation of how the architect intends to get changes to the plans-written directly on the drawings of the house or in a specifications book-communicated to the builders and subcontractors.

Have you designed and constructed a house around sustainable principles before? What went well, and what did you learn from that experience?
Even if you don't know much about sustainable design yourself, architects you interview should be able to explain basic concepts and aspects of design that appeal most to them when building a new home. Talk about your priorities-whether those include water conservation, energy from renewable sources, natural heating and cooling, or indoor air quality-and get a sense of how the architect intends to address them.

On this project, what are you going to include that you have included before, and what new elements do you intend to introduce?
Good architects are always learning, Nicklin says. It's best if they approach experimental elements with an air of adventure, while letting you know the risks.

Who will do the mechanical work and other sub-contracting, and are they familiar with the basics of sustainable design?
While the architect's job is to coordinate all the tradespeople who will be working on your house-from mechanical engineers to structural engineers to subcontractors to landscape architects-you want to make sure that all of these professionals understand what sustainable means to you.

Think about it: these folks install the HVAC, the plumbing, the irrigation and sprinklers, and all the mechanical systems that tap directly into your energy and water sources. That's where so much of your savings and sustainability come from, and you will want to make sure that your intentions are communicated directly to the folks with their fingers on the pulse of your house.

Will you provide me with a comprehensive operating manual or collection of materials so that I know how everything in my home works?
Even if you're a hands-off owner, your architect or builder should provide you with user's manuals for everything they've installed in your house-and better yet, explain them to you-particularly if an unconventional technology is used.

How do you learn about sustainable design and how do you stay current with it?
This question isn't required, but "it will separate the wheat from the chaff," Nicklin says. Do they read magazines? Go to conferences, or trade workshops? What certifications do they have (and what do those laurels mean)? Any good architect is always learning, and it's important to see whether your architect integrates sustainability into all aspects of the business, or if it seems like a low-priority consideration.

Things to ask yourself and your family, to discuss with the architect:

How often are you, the homeowner, willing to adjust the house for the changing seasons?
Will you remember to draw curtains during the day to optimize a natural cooling system? Will you install storm windows yourself with the changing seasons? Will you learn how to use your programmable thermostat? Nicklin points out that figuring out what kind of homeowner you are-ranging from hands-off to highly-involved-and whether or not you are willing to "play" with the house to get the most from its design, is an important factor in the choices you make.

If architects don't know that a homeowner is eager for hand-on maintenance, they typically default to designing a home that doesn't require involvement. If you want your house to think for itself in terms of its indoor environment, you should let the architect know.

How variable/flexible will you be about your own comfort within the house?
Do you want the whole house to maintain a constant temperature, or are you willing to close off some rooms to save energy? Are you willing to put a sweater on when it's cold? These questions run along a similar track as the question of "playing with your house."

Is indoor air quality a priority for you and do you have current health concerns? What does a house need to have in place to combat those types of conditions, ailments, and allergies?
If you are pregnant or have kids, or have known allergies or asthma in the family, then indoor air quality should be high on your priority list. Ask your architect about low-VOC paints, air filtration, and humidifying and de-humidifying systems. Your architect should not install a natural cooling system, for example, if you live near a freeway full of exhaust, or in a climate region that is prone to pollen and other allergens blowing through your home.

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