Bowden House Ideas_Before
These are some of my MANY ideas for my house. I wanted to share some of the design process an architect goes through. I'd like to build all of these, but I could only choose one....for the time being. Each scheme has qualities that are nice but in the end I had to balance budget, site views, site slope restraints, and budget again, and importance of spatial qualities.
Bowden House was intended as a Case Study House for California Advanced Energy Homes. It is an energy efficient, passive solar heated house that demonstrates economical building techniques using modern technology. A ‘gentle landing’ on the site takes advantage of mountain views and open space, and acknowledges the geology of the soils by blending in with its color and material choices. The oldest adobe in the city, a near neighbor, is reflected in the simple lines and geometry of the modern home.
My Beliefs:
Un-cluttered
-plenty of ‘poche’ thick walls with built in storage, pantries and closets
Functionality and convenience are high priorities of modern families.
Un-carpeted
-smooth concrete floors, low maintenance, worry free, child friendly, and high thermal mass to soak up daytime sun which reradiates the heat out at night. It's important to be able to walk barefoot, inside and out and be perfectly comfortable.
Radiant heated floors augment the passive solar heat gain.
Un-curtained
- open by day to soak in passive solar heat gain. Each elevation looks different to address the function and quality of light allowed into the house. I like as little drapes and veils as possible. Let nature in!
Un-tended
-low maintenance materials and systems on inside and out that conserve resources, both global In nature and the energy of the homeowners
Un-wound
-open plan- allows for free circulation and multitude of uses and maternal eye on all activities. The material age segues into the maternal age. The 'great hall' takes a cue from medieval times and becomes the hub of the family.
Bowden House was intended as a Case Study House for California Advanced Energy Homes. It is an energy efficient, passive solar heated house that demonstrates economical building techniques using modern technology. A ‘gentle landing’ on the site takes advantage of mountain views and open space, and acknowledges the geology of the soils by blending in with its color and material choices. The oldest adobe in the city, a near neighbor, is reflected in the simple lines and geometry of the modern home.
My Beliefs:
Un-cluttered
-plenty of ‘poche’ thick walls with built in storage, pantries and closets
Functionality and convenience are high priorities of modern families.
Un-carpeted
-smooth concrete floors, low maintenance, worry free, child friendly, and high thermal mass to soak up daytime sun which reradiates the heat out at night. It's important to be able to walk barefoot, inside and out and be perfectly comfortable.
Radiant heated floors augment the passive solar heat gain.
Un-curtained
- open by day to soak in passive solar heat gain. Each elevation looks different to address the function and quality of light allowed into the house. I like as little drapes and veils as possible. Let nature in!
Un-tended
-low maintenance materials and systems on inside and out that conserve resources, both global In nature and the energy of the homeowners
Un-wound
-open plan- allows for free circulation and multitude of uses and maternal eye on all activities. The material age segues into the maternal age. The 'great hall' takes a cue from medieval times and becomes the hub of the family.
