Sometimes I envy Chris Van Dusen, children’s book author and illustrator who wrote “If I Built a House,” “If I Built a School,” and many others loved by parents and children. Wouldn’t it be nice to realize our wildest dreams about the place we inhabit the majority of our lives?
As an architect, I am charged with realizing dreams. Then as the process continues, I must temper the dreams with realistic budgets, code requirements, structure, available building systems, and timelines. Dreaming is still important, though dreams often get diluted and shaved down as a project progresses to the actual built thing.
Some designs get placed on the shelf, not making it to the construction stage. Others are built and occupied. You can find examples of those on my web site.
In this newsletter I’ll share two designs of a Home for Good that are only on the paper stage, waiting for a chance to be built. I’m calling them “If I Built a Home for Good.” If you think one of these designs would be useful to you, contact me. We can work out a special deal.
If I Built a Home for Good
One Story Living with Apartment and Storage above: Reduced thermal bridges and a tight building envelope minimize operating emissions and energy costs throughout the building’s life, improving overall energy efficiency and comfort. Therefore this home has a double stud wall at the exterior envelope. The geometry creates a protected entry. You enter into an ample mudroom, a must have for the ideal Maine home. This one allows entry from the garage as well as from outdoors and includes the stair to a second floor apartment and storage. These are energy saving features, as you may enter from outside or the garage and travel upstairs without ever opening the interior door to the living spaces.
Open plan major living spaces face South: Even though Kitchen, Dining, Living, and Den are open to one another, the geometry creates an alcove for the Kitchen. Sliding panels move along a beam separating the Dining from the Living Room for optional visual separation. These can have art displays as well. All these spaces have South facing windows and enjoy light from a row of skylights. A Greenhouse is tucked in beside the Kitchen. The wood stove is nestled against the Guest Room wall at the border between public and private spaces. All the floors are radiant on the ground level.
The private spaces are arranged on the North and West ends: a Guest Bedroom/Bath Suite and a Master Bedroom Suite with generous closets and a laundry. The Master Bedroom has a cathedral ceiling.
The Garage is sectioned allowing for a workshop or storage of two cars.
Home With a Small Footprint
Another approach to minimizing impact and saving energy is to build a compact footprint. This design is a 24 foot by 24 foot square plan with playful strategically placed “nodes.” You approach the square and move through it at a dynamic 45 degree angle. But you never encounter an acute angle. It happens only in two closets on the first floor. Many views within the house are across a diagonal, which encourages a sense of a larger space. The home is three floors for a total of less than 1700 square feet.
I conceived the home as a playful “treehouse” set on a wooded hill. Decks (on post supports) and well-placed window bays expand the usable area. A rectangular mudroom entry set on the diagonal guides you in offering the longer views to well placed openings that expand the space. The central stair is also turned on the diagonal. Second floor bedrooms are just big enough to move comfortably around the bed. The third floor is a living/sleeping loft intended for visiting family. The loft and stair are lit by clearstory allowing dappled light to cascade down to the first floor.
If I were to make this design a Home for Good, I would add railings to exterior steps and a ramp to the entry. The first floor could one day adapt to one floor living for someone with mobility issues.
“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” – Albert Einstein