Northern California – Studio 101 Designs
Area: 368m2 (3,890 sq.ft) house plus 118m2 (1,280 sq.ft.) attached garage We’re not here to act as a social conscience, so we’ll leave you to decide if a vacation home of this size can be considered necessary, let alone ‘green’. We like the design, materials and overall functionality of the home. Our biggest question with this home and others using weathering steel, is – do you end up with rust stains on clothing every time you brush up against a wall?
Here are the architect’s notes:
“The Truckee house is loosely based on one of Kaufmann’s designs with many custom modifications. Located in snow country, the house serves as a vacation home for a family of four plus friends. It includes a detached guest suite which is connected to the main house by a covered walkway.
The central ‘breezespace’ is flanked by outdoor courtyard spaces created by two modular wings, with sloping roofs to account for snow loading. Trellises were designed and located strategically to shade the high summer sun but allow low winter sun to enter. The stone floors in the breezespace act as a thermal mass, holding heat from sun and re-releasing it back into the room.
Exterior materials are FSC certified cedar siding and weathering steel. The steel forms a protective layer of rust, minimizing maintenance. This palette of color and texture blends into the built and natural context and passed strict neighborhood design guidelines prior to construction. Windows were placed and sized to maximize interior daylighting and to frame views of surrounding landscape, trees, and mountains.
Some of its other ‘green’ features include an efficient high-velocity miniduct heating system, low-flow plumbing fixtures, FSC certified cabinetry, bamboo flooring, and low-VOC interior paint. The house was built solar-ready to facilitate future photovoltaic system installation.”
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