The houses in Thoreau Park had been built with simplicity and functionality in mind, constructed to optimize the elements while requiring little maintenance.At eye level, Maddy Kime's house resembled a Cape Cod cottage in design with slate-blue shingles and a base of fieldstone.But once the eye traveled upward past the low-slung roofline, her house became a study in function with white triangular beams that held solar panels.

At the front door, Liberty took note of the wreath ...