Sited on an existing organic farm in a bucolic landscape overlooking a lake, this compact eco-house contains a kitchen, living, sleeping, and bath/mechanical space in just 880 square feet. Super insulated double stud wall construction provides for a tight building envelope heated and cooled by an electric heat pump powered by the solar array located on the attached garage roof. Air circulation and fresh air requirements are served by an advanced energy recovery ventilator.
Cooking, Eating, Living and Sleeping are combined in a spacious vaulted shed form. Wide overhangs and passive design strategies prevent the sun from entering the space during the summer months, but allow for passive solar heating during the fall and winter with the finished concrete slab floor serving as a thermal mass for the house. An efficient floating wood stove provides additional heat by using dead wood from the surrounding forested areas as fuel. A large window wall with views to the south and west frames views of the lake, and leads out to a wraparound deck. Clerestory windows on the high side of the main living space allow natural light and reduce the need for artificial lighting. A mechanical soffit runs down the central spine of building, with built in cabinetry below to provide storage space. The low sloped north portion of the house contains porch and entry space, bathrooms, and the mechanical – the Green Machine.
Exterior materials are low maintenance metal siding, a metal standing seam roof, and a natural cedar rainscreen on the protected front and back porches.
