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ZeroEnergy DesignThis modern green home offers both a vacation destination on Cape Cod near local family members and an opportunity for rental income.
FAMILY ROOTS. A West Coast couple living in the San Francisco Bay Area sought a permanent East Coast vacation home near family members living on Cape Cod. As academic professionals focused on sustainability, they sought a green, energy efficient home that was well-aligned with their values. With no green homes available for sale on Cape Cod, they decided to purchase land near their family and build their own.
SLOPED SITE. Comprised of a 3/4 acre lot nestled in the pines, the steeply sloping terrain called for a plan that embraced and took advantage of the slope. Of equal priority was optimizing solar exposure, preserving privacy from abutters, and creating outdoor living space. The design accomplished these goals with a simple, rectilinear form, offering living space on the both entry and lower/basement levels. The stepped foundation allows for a walk-out basement level with light-filled living space on the down-hill side of the home. The traditional basement on the eastern, up-hill side houses mechanical equipment and a home gym. The house welcomes natural light throughout, captures views of the forest, and delivers entertainment space that connects indoor living space to outdoor deck and dining patio.
MODERN VISION. The clean building form and uncomplicated finishes pay homage to the modern architectural legacy on the outer Cape. Durable and economical fiber cement panels, fixed with aluminum channels, clad the primary form. Cedar clapboards provide a visual accent at the south-facing living room, which extends a single roof plane to cover the entry porch.
SMART USE OF SPACE. On the entry level, the “L”-shaped living, dining, and kitchen space connects to the exterior living, dining, and grilling spaces to effectively double the home’s summertime entertainment area. Placed at the western end of the entry level (where it can retain privacy but still claim expansive downhill views) is the master suite with a built-in study. The lower level has two guest bedrooms, a second full bathroom, and laundry. The flexibility of the space—crucial in a house with a modest footprint—emerges in one of the guest bedrooms, which doubles as home office by opening the barn-style double doors to connect it to the bright, airy open stair leading up to the entry level. Thoughtful design, generous ceiling heights and large windows transform the modest 1,100 sf* footprint into a well-lit, spacious home. *(total finished space is 1800 sf)
RENTAL INCOME. The property works for its owners by netting rental income when the owners are home in San Francisco. The house especially caters to vacationers bound for nearby Mayo Beach and includes an outdoor shower adjacent to the lower level entry door. In contrast to the bare bones cottages that are typically available on the Cape, this home offers prospective tenants a modern aesthetic, paired with luxurious and green features. Durable finishes inside and out will ensure longevity with the heavier use that comes with a rental property.
COMFORT YEAR-ROUND. The home is super-insulated and air-tight, with mechanical ventilation to provide continuous fresh air from the outside. High performance triple-paned windows complement the building enclosure and maximize passive solar gain while ensuring a warm, draft-free winter, even when sitting close to the glass. A properly sized air source heat pump offers efficient heating & cooling, and includes a carefully designed the duct distribution system to provide even comfort throughout the house. The super-insulated envelope allows us to significantly reduce the equipment capacity, duct size, and airflow quantities, while maintaining unparalleled thermal comfort.
ENERGY EFFICIENT. The building’s shell and mechanical systems play instrumental roles in the home’s exceptional performance. The building enclosure reduces the most significant energy glutton: heating. Continuous super-insulation, thorough air sealing, triple-pane windows, and passive solar gain work together to yield a miniscule heating load. All active energy consumers are extremely efficient: an air source heat pump for heating and cooling, a heat pump hot water heater, LED lighting, energy recovery ventilation (ERV), and high efficiency appliances. The result is a home that uses 70% less energy than a similar new home built to code requirements.
OVERALL. The home embodies the owners’ goals and values while comprehensively enabling thermal comfort, energy efficiency, a vacation respite, and supplementary income.
PROJECT TEAM
ZeroEnergy Design - Architect & Mechanical Designer
A.F. Hultin & Co. - Contractor
Pamet Valley Landscape Design - Landscape & Masonry
Lisa Finch - Original Artwork
European Architectural Supply - Windows
Eric Roth Photography - Photography
Garden MetalworkLeah used our Lightweight Aluminum English style window boxes to liven up her exterior garden bringing color and depth to the second story.
Note: The kitten below admiring her new window boxes!
Flavin ArchitectsThis house is discreetly tucked into its wooded site in the Mad River Valley near the Sugarbush Resort in Vermont. The soaring roof lines complement the slope of the land and open up views though large windows to a meadow planted with native wildflowers. The house was built with natural materials of cedar shingles, fir beams and native stone walls. These materials are complemented with innovative touches including concrete floors, composite exterior wall panels and exposed steel beams. The home is passively heated by the sun, aided by triple pane windows and super-insulated walls.
Photo by: Nat Rea Photography
Gordon Tobey DevelopmentsMountain craftsman style one and a half storey home, Energy-star certified, located in Brighton, Ontario.
Photo by © Daniel Vaughan (vaughangroup.ca)
The Cottage Building CompanyThe SEASHELL Cottage. http://www.thecottagesnc.com/property/seashell-cottage-office-2/
Photo: Morvil Design.
Allbright Bullock ArchitectsThe roof line comes down low on the second floor to reduce the height of the house and create an interesting roof form without losing too much floor space on the second floor. Pushing the shed dormers out flush with exterior walls helps accomplish these goals. This is Phase-1 of a 2 phase project. The future Phase-2 addition will enclose the fireplace with a matching bedroom wing that will complete the symmetry centered on the front porch. The windows on the gable wall will move out to the new gable wall.
Tim Andersen ArchitectView from the street of Ballard Craftsman shows rebuilt entry stair, balcony and railing. Master bedroom opens to balcony with new door and Quantum windows. Exterior colors are Benjamin Moore "Mountain Lane" for siding, and "Barely Yellow" for trim. David Whelan photo
Tanner Consulting LLC- Landscape ArchitectureDRM Design Group provided Landscape Architecture services for a Local Austin, Texas residence. We worked closely with Redbud Custom Homes and Tim Brown Architecture to create a custom low maintenance- low water use contemporary landscape design. This Eco friendly design has a simple and crisp look with great contrasting colors that really accentuate the existing trees.
www.redbudaustin.com
www.timbrownarch.com
Luther Paul Weber AIA, ArchitectA new Tudor bay added to the front of an existing red brick home using new stone to integrate the base with the existing stone base. Fir windows and cedar trim are stained complementary colors. The darker window color draws out the dark "clinker" bricks. The roof is Certainteed Grand Manor asphalt shingles designed to appear as slate. The gutters and downspouts are copper.
The paint of the stucco is Benjamin Moore Exterior low luster in color: “Briarwood”.
Hoachlander Davis Photography
Witt ConstructionA European-California influenced Custom Home sits on a hill side with an incredible sunset view of Saratoga Lake. This exterior is finished with reclaimed Cypress, Stucco and Stone. While inside, the gourmet kitchen, dining and living areas, custom office/lounge and Witt designed and built yoga studio create a perfect space for entertaining and relaxation. Nestle in the sun soaked veranda or unwind in the spa-like master bath; this home has it all. Photos by Randall Perry Photography.
Thoroughbred Custom HomesThis beautiful transitional home was designed by our client with one of our partner design firms, Covert + Associates Residential Design. Our client’s purchased this one-acre lot and hired Thoroughbred Custom Homes to build their high-performance custom home. The design incorporated a “U” shaped home to provide an area for their future pool and a porte-cochere with a five-car garage. The stunning white brick is accented by black Andersen composite windows, custom double iron entry doors and black trim. All the patios and the porte-cochere feature tongue and grove pine ceilings with recessed LED lighting. Upon entering the home through the custom doors, guests are greeted by 24’ wide by 10’ tall glass sliding doors and custom “X” pattern ceiling designs. The living area also features a 60” linear Montigo fireplace with a custom black concrete façade that matches vent hood in the kitchen. The kitchen features full overlay cabinets, quartzite countertops, and Monogram appliances with a Café black and gold 48” range. The master suite features a large bedroom with a unique corner window setup and private patio. The master bathroom is a showstopper with an 11’ wide ‘wet room’ including dual shower heads, a rain head, a handheld, and a freestanding tub. The semi-frameless Starphire, low iron, glass shows off the floor to ceiling marble and two-tone black and gold Kohler fixtures. There are just too many unique features to list!
PURE Design Inc.When Ami McKay was asked by the owners of Park Place to design their new home, she found inspiration in both her own travels and the beautiful West Coast of Canada which she calls home. This circa-1912 Vancouver character home was torn down and rebuilt, and our fresh design plan allowed the owners dreams to come to life.
A closer look at Park Place reveals an artful fusion of diverse influences and inspirations, beautifully brought together in one home. Within the kitchen alone, notable elements include the French-bistro backsplash, the arched vent hood (including hidden, seamlessly integrated shelves on each side), an apron-front kitchen sink (a nod to English Country kitchens), and a saturated color palette—all balanced by white oak millwork. Floor to ceiling cabinetry ensures that it’s also easy to keep this beautiful space clutter-free, with room for everything: chargers, stationery and keys. These influences carry on throughout the home, translating into thoughtful touches: gentle arches, welcoming dark green millwork, patterned tile, and an elevated vintage clawfoot bathtub in the cozy primary bathroom.
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