|
|
| |
|
|
| THE HOOCH: |
|
|
 |
Check out the
new "Hooch," just built by a great guy, Jo
Scheer from Ashland, Oregon. It's his design for a relatively
simple structure that meets the building code's "less than 120
square feet without a building permit" requirement. It has no
foundation, no concrete, but guy wires instead hold it in
place. I think of it as a treehouse without the tree.
Check out Jo's website: treehouse where you can arrange to stay in
the one he built in Puerto Rico. But, since they're so
affordable, you should just hire Jo to build you one. You'll
enjoy every minute. |
|
| |
|
|
| STRAW BALE HOME: |
|
 |
 |
| The reason we built the hooch
was that my clients were restless, wanting to make some progress
while waiting for the building permit on their new
house. You can somewhat see the
contour lines, stepping down the hill. The hooch is just above
the top of the plan. |
|
| |
|
POURED EARTH: |
|
We're going to try a poured
earth wall, like this sample. So, the idea is to make a 12
foot high wall with alternating colors that feels like the walls of
the Grand Canyon, running the entire length of the back side of
this house. There is a 6 inch wide
continuous skylight running the length of the wall, so the blast of
light from the ocean view can be balanced. |
 |
| |
|
| SYMPLIFYING STRUCTURE: |
|
 |
In the last few years, we have
tried to simplify structure and emphasize the finishes.
In other words, don't spend it all on
what gets hidden in the wall. So, the challenge is to make a
simple structure interesting.
With a little shift, a
rectangle becomes a curve, but still uses straight rafters for
the roof:
More images of this house, and the option
of ordering the plans are on Healthy Home Designs'
website. |
| |
|
| DETAILS: |
|
 |
If the structure is easy, you can
spend your time on the details you actually see:straw bales walls covered with earthen
plasters, earthen floor, and bamboo trim. |
|
I particularly enjoy being involved in the
building of the details of a project. These two doors
- that my father and I built - are on pivots, so they
swing almost completely out of the way to open the indoors
out.
More pictures of
this design are on the Healthy
Homes website. And more about our furniture and light
fixtures are on this page. |
| |
|
| GREEN BUILDING: |
|
 |
 |
Sometimes, projects can be very rectilinear, but
with a richness of detail:
"Environmentally-considered" materials can be
worked in easily: fiberglass frame windows, fibercement and other
waste composite siding, radiant heat coupled with a
passive solar greenhouse, and engineered lumber made from very
small trees. |
 |
| |
|
| SITE CONSIDERATIONS: |
|
|
 |
Another environmental consideration is to get
the house to feel like it's meant to be a part of the site.
Here, on a very sensitive coastal site, the California Coastal
Commission actually was pleased to see our attempt to match the rock
formations in the neighborhood.
It's important to think of buildings as sculptures that fit into their
surroundings. |
|
| |
|
|
| MODELS: |
|
|
 |
Here are some of the next
projects to be built.
For more on our approach to strawbale
design, click here. |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
