HAUTE PROFILE
R
PHOTO CREDIT:© VINCENT GOTTI
OBIN NIELSEN, FOUNDER AND CEO of Mavericks Builders, grew up in a construction family. While still in her teens, she started building skateboard ramps and tree houses, a hobby that used both her exceptional math skills and artistic talents. Nielsen took an interest in model homes in college, always imagining how she'd alter the lesser-priced ones to look more expensive. Before long, she was flipping houses. "We used to do a lot of big remodels, and I love being able to fuse the old building style with newer modern design," she said. At the forefront of sustainable construction, her green-conscious company has moved from the Mission District and is now headquartered in Napa. With work that has been published in magazines and shown on television (Discovery Channel's The Worlds’ Greenest Homes, House Hunters on Vacation, and more), she played a paramount role in helping to establish the LEED for Homes guidelines. Back at a time when this certification only applied to commercial structures, Nielsen was leading the charge. During this same time, she worked on the Green Building Task Force with then San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and with San Francisco’s city planning and building department to revise building codes to include new green building practices. Some of the new codes incorporate alternative energy saving systems into homes, such as adding rainwater and gray water systems to homes to allow for water recycling and reuse and to extend planting areas in front of San Franciscan homes. "We understand that the impact buildings have on the environment begins with the way we build and the products we use," she explains. "That is why, as dedicated green builders, we use practices and products that reduce waste, conserve energy, and create healthy spaces with a minimal environmental footprint." Of her day-today work, from matching a client’s budget for their dream home to building a house in a way that has never been done before, Nielsen says simply: “It feels like magic. I continue to learn new things with each project.” 47
