Design
All of the home’s structural features were produced by one or more of four design criteria: 1) provide for passive solar heat and active solar power, 2) build only space that we need and use regularly, 3) create an environment that encourages family interaction, and 4) facilitate free movement or air and light. The result is a house with 3,400 square feet of heated space (4,800 including the basement) with 4 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms (master bath, one family bath on the second floor, powder room on the first, and a full bath in the basement). While a large house, it is about 15% smaller than what is allowed and typically built on a lot of this size.
Floor Plans
third-floor second-floor first-floor basement
The environmentally friendly or “green” design features are: passive and active solar power, size, stairways that will allow for cool air to be drawn from the basement and out the third floor, ample natural light and a roof top garden.
Our first challenge was getting enough exposure to the sun, the south and west. The lot is 50′ wide by 190′ deep with the front of the house facing south and parking in the rear accessed by an alley. We chose an L-shaped house open to the south and west that will expose much of the living space to the sun. Windows with the most exposure will have overhangs designed to let the heat of the sun in during cooler months, but keep it out during the summer when the sun is higher in the sky.
We also wanted to ensure a good roof line for solar panels (as much sun as possible with no shadows). So we split the 3rd level, creating third floor space in the back and front with only 2 stories in the middle. The flat middle section allows sun to reach the back roof, providing 25 feet of solar ready roof line. This design solved our solar needs and gave us something unexpected in return, space for a roof top garden and deck. The roof deck will be accessed from both 3rd floor spaces. The garden on this roof provides two “green” benefits, it adds insulation, helping us reduce energy needs, and reduces rainwater runoff.
The size of any house is an important consideration in a “green” design. Smaller houses uses fewer resources to construct and less energy to heat and cool. The size of many new homes today seems to be defined by what code will allow. This was not our approach, rather we discussed what kind of rooms we wanted, how they would be used and how big they should be. We tried to create a floor plan that would make all the rooms accessible and inviting, so they all would be used on a regular basis. Our goal is to make the best use of the space we build so that the house could be smaller. (This may seem like a specious claim given that the house will be 3,400 square feet. But in the context of new homes built in this part of town, it is a valid point.) We were able to keep the size reasonable by eliminating a formal dining room, shrinking the third floor and having only one family bathroom on the second floor. We are also trying to make better use of the basement.
From an environmental perspective, basements are the best part of a house. You have to have one, so no extra material is used in construction and they are temperate and therefore easy to heat and cool. The trick is to try to shift use away from above ground space to below. New homes can have great basements with high ceilings and a lot of natural light. They often, however, seem disconnected from the rest of the house making it hard to really use all of the space. We decided to add a second stairway to the basement, hoping that this would make it more accessible and user friendly. You can get to the basement from an open stairway in the family room and from the main stairway in the front of the house. And, rather than add new types of rooms such as a wine cellar or media room, we will have a typical all purpose rec room, ping pong room equiped with a murphy bed for conversion to a guest room, bathroom and a work room. As these rooms have no designated use, they can be used generally as needs arise.
The house will have no formal dining room. While we recognize the desire to be able to sit down to a meal with family or friends in a place other than the breakfast nook, we did not think we need to build a room where we would do this only a few times a year. Instead, we are building a large eating area open to the kitchen that would be used everyday of the year. While connected to the kitchen, this dining area will have a distinct feel and provide an equally great place for casual family dinners and more formal dinner parties.
Most people of my generation grew up in a house with only one family bath, often shared by kids and parents. Then there was a move to one family bathroom and a master, a trend I endorse. Now homes are being built with many bathrooms, in some cases one for every bedroom. This bothered us in two ways. First, these rooms are used infrequently so using resources to build them is wasteful. Second, private bathrooms change the way a family interacts. In this house the kids negotiate over bathroom use, learning to share and respect that common space. This will foster a more interactive living environment that we prefer to one that has options for people to separate and avoid each other.
There are 3 stairways: the main that runs from basement to 3rd floor, stairs in the back of the house connecting the basement and first floor and stairs in the master bedroom that lead to the 3rd floor. In addition to providing better flow for people, these are passage ways for light and air. As light enters the house and is allowed to move from room to room, we hope to reduce our use of artificial light. Air will also be drawn up through these stairs, bringing cool air from the basement and venting it through the third floor. Hot air will rise and be vented and cool air will be drawn up, creating naturally occurring airflow. We hope this will reduce our use of air conditioning.
The design meets our goal of an environmentally friendly home, and our needs and wants for living space. It is a home designed for us, based on an honest assessment of how we live our lives, not a romanticized view of how we might or how we think other people might want to live. While this exact design might not be what every family wants, the concepts behind the design should apply equally to the planning of any home. Having the money to build a big home does not mean you should. You may have the money, but the earth does not have the trees, water and energy sources to sustain these types of decisions.
