PROJECT LOCATION: Albemarle County, Virginia PHOTOGRAPHY: Digital Minerva
We were approached in 2005 about designing a net-zero home for these clients, which sounded like an incredible opportunity and challenge. Skyview was our first of now many net-zero projects. We were new to building science and still learning, as was the building industry. The understanding of how to make a house air tight and ventilated right at this time was unknown and we were relying heavily on extra insulation and extra solar panels to achieve net-zero. This home features a Trombe wall with wood stove fuel sources instead of the traditional solar Trombe wall design for added heat in the winter months. We spent a lot of time looking at passive solar design strategies to make sure we were shaded in the summer and solar-heated in the winter. Our clients used convection cooling in the summer to cool the house, opening windows upstairs to draw warm air out of the house, and one of their favorite technologies, a convection cooktop – which at the time was a cutting edge technology. The home was such a success and the number of grandkids have grown so much that they are building the same design (with some additions, including a basement) close by and again going for net-zero. Stay tuned for Skyview 2 in the portfolio in the future.
The Harrisonburg Park House is a modest home filled with light next to a park. This home relies on the softness of the details, and there are a lot of them. The stone countertop that looks like wood, the cable rail stair, the lambs fence deck, and the open shelving in the kitchen all add to the crisp design elements of the home. The house rises up in the trees, blending into the landscape at the edge of the woods looking out into the city park and flooding the main living space with light. The spaces provided are intentional and purposeful to maximize the value of the home. The design fits the place from the type and color of siding to the finishes inside the home, while the door color pops out to say, you are welcome here.
With a steep slope on an infill site, Hillcrest Cottage had some challenges from the get-go, but the largest one was timing. We started design just as the world started shutting down, going into a worldwide pandemic. We had no idea the impacts that were to come on the supply chain, scheduling, and pricing – so we are very fortunate we had flexible clients. We were also fortunate to work in tandem with a builder, Herr and Company, that was able to find the right value products at the right time that were available when needed. It was a challenge to build. The end result is a beautiful home that captures the views and provides ample living space on two levels and incredible outdoor living spaces. This was one of our first projects that we designed through using zoom technologies for meetings, and we learned a lot about the technology. Those lessons have helped us grow as a company to better serve our clients.
We love the historic homes in downtown Harrisonburg and all the character they provide and in particular we love the big front porches along Franklin street. However, there seems to be a trend of small kitchens making it hard to move the large porch gatherings inside the home to gather around the island while preparing the food. We were thrilled to be invited in to the design process on this addition process by the home owners that were already working with Herr and Company to execute the construction. The design had to fit just right between the side yard setback, below and beside existing windows, and within a certain footprint area. It also had to function just right and flood the space with daylight. We developed 3D renderings so our clients to feel the space before we finished the design and then worked with the builder to develop drawings they needed for an efficient construction process. We love the result and all the counter space provided in a very efficient amount of space.
We love working with repeat clients as we already have learned some of their language and communication styles. It is also always fun to learn a new project type and while we have done barns in the past, we had never done a horse barn so this was a fun learning opportunity. We started with an existing eight-stall rudimentary barn and teamed with Robb Construction to create a state-of-the-art twelve-stall barn that includes spacious common areas and a one-bedroom apartment. The vision driving the project was to have a boutique facility readily able to accommodate both our client’s horses and their client’s horses. Lucas Equine built our custom 12 x 12’ stall fronts and removable partitions, each with its own commercial-grade fan, lights, a generous ceiling height, and a Dutch door facing outside. Six of the stalls feature access to 12 x 24’ sand paddocks. All construction and design decisions were made with safety and comfort in mind for the horses. This project is a great example of collaboration. Our role in the project as architect was to make sure the structure works and the room sizes met the criteria we were provided. There were other experts that knew the program better than us and we were counting on them to teach and lead us through the design process to make sure we met the goals of the project. The results are incredible and the barn and apartment as the state-of-the-art barn that the client described to me in the first visit to the site.
