The steep path crosses wetlands and streams as it winds through the forest up the hill and into a clearing. Our clients’ priorities were to maintain a deep connection with the forest and to build with non-toxic materials. We designed an earth-sheltered house with passive solar heating, natural ventilation, and other energy- and resource-efficient elements. Computer energy modeling and building science helped us to optimize the orientation, building elements and heating and cooling systems.
Visitors arrive at the house from the north, through a modest walled garden passageway set into a gentle rise near the top of the site. From within, the house gradually opens outward, towards a dramatic ravine to the southeast. Part buried, part pavilion in the woods, the house alternately acts as cave (refuge) and treehouse (prospect).
The main structure is foam and steel prefabricated panels, for maximum insulation with minimum embodied energy. We found historic chestnut logs salvaged from an 18th century church and a traditional timber framer to build the structure of the Great Room. The clients love it because it feels like a lodge to them.
Other features:
- open and screened porches at the forest edge
- radiant heat floors
- eco-friendly finish materials such as cork, rubber, and locally quarried stone
- concrete countertops and Japanese soaking tub made by a local artisan
- rain garden and native landscaping
- no gutters; rain drips off the roof into a gravel bed and percolates back into the water table
- durable Hardi-board siding on the outside
The house has grown into its surroundings over time and provides sensual delights year-round. Great Blue Herons have been known to visit – brazenly stealing fish from the pond. Hints of the client’s experiences of serenity, beauty and wonder can be glimpsed in her album of photographs below.
