Featured on the Discovery Channel's Renovation Nation, this green solar home built on a narrow infill lot is passively heated, naturally cooled and solar powered. Unlike conventional homes built with wood or masonry, this home is built from the soil from the excavation on site. A machine uses very high pressure to compress the soil into a brick. The compressed earth bricks, wrapped with a continuous layer of foam insulation to retain heat, form a structurally sound massive exterior wall that is an integral part of the home’s passive heating and cooling system. In the winter, the sun coming through the south facing windows heats the house and warms the walls. At night, the massive walls radiate heat back into the home. Features of this house include 3000 gallons of rainwater collection, LED lighting, energy recovery ventilation, and non-toxic materials. The home is certified by EarthCraft Virginia green building program.

Project Overview: This intensively-designed small project by MQ Architecture expanded on a functional outbuilding to make something beautiful, matching the fantastic wooded location directly across the Hudson River from West Point. From MQ Architecture: “This project entitled a surgical demolition of an existing shed and the erection of a small ancillary building. The old structure housed the electrical and communications utilities of a large compound, and the new project had to preserve the location and function of all this equipment, therefore some walls and floor levels are set from the beginning. The program required two different type of users, therefore we decided to split the building in two, allowing for a separate circulation for each group. The upper piece houses the electrical room and the team quarters, while the lower portion holds two individual restrooms for visitors. The project sits in the middle of the forest therefore we chose charred wood to make it blend with the surrounding nature. On the other hand, the polycarbonate façade brings natural light and privacy to the interior. All floors are made of polished concrete for easy maintenance and a radiant slab keeps an optimal temperature during extreme winters.” Product: Gendai 1×6 select grade shiplap Prefinish: Black Application: Residential – Exterior SF: 1100SF Designer: Miguel Quismondo (MQ Architecture) Builder: Miguel Quismondo Date: August 2018 Location: Garrison, NY

Featured on the Discovery Channel's Renovation Nation, this green solar home built on a narrow infill lot is passively heated, naturally cooled and solar powered. Unlike conventional homes built with wood or masonry, this home is built from the soil from the excavation on site. A machine uses very high pressure to compress the soil into a brick. The compressed earth bricks, wrapped with a continuous layer of foam insulation to retain heat, form a structurally sound massive exterior wall that is an integral part of the home’s passive heating and cooling system. In the winter, the sun coming through the south facing windows heats the house and warms the walls. At night, the massive walls radiate heat back into the home. Features of this house include 3000 gallons of rainwater collection, LED lighting, energy recovery ventilation, and non-toxic materials. The home is certified by EarthCraft Virginia green building program.

Sited on a Wyoming mountainside, just below the tree line, this home traverses a steep, east facing slope located just south of Grand Teton National Park. The house is conceived as a series of terraces offering views of the mountainous, vast landscape to the east and minimizing the visual impact of the building from the valley below. Designed for a family of six who share a love for the landscape and all mountain sports, the stepping volumes create separate zones for the family while remaining part of a single cohesive composition that responds to the land. The program includes a cantilevered living area with views to the west, north, and east; a shared fireplace between the dining area and the living area; and a kitchen which opens to the dining room and to an outside shaded terrace. The formal entry is up-slope—convenient to the guest parking area and skiers returning along a favorite, out-of- bounds ski run. The master bedroom occupies the highest point of the design and is above an office and studio, which can are converted into bedrooms. A roof top hot-tub is embedded into the roof of the lowest volume, and a fire table enlivens the mid-level terrace.

Bob Schatz
Example of a mountain style staircase design in Burlington

Featured on the Discovery Channel's Renovation Nation, this green solar home built on a narrow infill lot is passively heated, naturally cooled and solar powered. Unlike conventional homes built with wood or masonry, this home is built from the soil from the excavation on site. A machine uses very high pressure to compress the soil into a brick. The compressed earth bricks, wrapped with a continuous layer of foam insulation to retain heat, form a structurally sound massive exterior wall that is an integral part of the home’s passive heating and cooling system. In the winter, the sun coming through the south facing windows heats the house and warms the walls. At night, the massive walls radiate heat back into the home. Features of this house include 3000 gallons of rainwater collection, LED lighting, energy recovery ventilation, and non-toxic materials. The home is certified by EarthCraft Virginia green building program.

The home was built as a case study in Sustainable and Energy Efficient building design. Passive Solar design strategies and new construction technologies are employed that marry with the Site and Program goals. • Solar orientation of the spaces; • broad eaves for shade; • natural cross ventilation to take advantage of the delta Breeze; • Natural Daylighting; • Structural Insulated Panel System (SIPS) construction; • FSC-certified lumber and cedar siding; • High Efficiency insulations, windows and lighting; • pre-finished fiber cement Rain-screen siding; • thermal mass polished concrete floors with radiant heating;, • Photovoltaic solar power ready butterfly roof. ©serrao design/architecture, unless otherwise noted

Featured on the Discovery Channel's Renovation Nation, this green solar home built on a narrow infill lot is passively heated, naturally cooled and solar powered. Unlike conventional homes built with wood or masonry, this home is built from the soil from the excavation on site. A machine uses very high pressure to compress the soil into a brick. The compressed earth bricks, wrapped with a continuous layer of foam insulation to retain heat, form a structurally sound massive exterior wall that is an integral part of the home’s passive heating and cooling system. In the winter, the sun coming through the south facing windows heats the house and warms the walls. At night, the massive walls radiate heat back into the home. Features of this house include 3000 gallons of rainwater collection, LED lighting, energy recovery ventilation, and non-toxic materials. The home is certified by EarthCraft Virginia green building program.

Project Overview: This intensively-designed small project by MQ Architecture expanded on a functional outbuilding to make something beautiful, matching the fantastic wooded location directly across the Hudson River from West Point. From MQ Architecture: “This project entitled a surgical demolition of an existing shed and the erection of a small ancillary building. The old structure housed the electrical and communications utilities of a large compound, and the new project had to preserve the location and function of all this equipment, therefore some walls and floor levels are set from the beginning. The program required two different type of users, therefore we decided to split the building in two, allowing for a separate circulation for each group. The upper piece houses the electrical room and the team quarters, while the lower portion holds two individual restrooms for visitors. The project sits in the middle of the forest therefore we chose charred wood to make it blend with the surrounding nature. On the other hand, the polycarbonate façade brings natural light and privacy to the interior. All floors are made of polished concrete for easy maintenance and a radiant slab keeps an optimal temperature during extreme winters.” Product: Gendai 1×6 select grade shiplap Prefinish: Black Application: Residential – Exterior SF: 1100SF Designer: Miguel Quismondo (MQ Architecture) Builder: Miguel Quismondo Date: August 2018 Location: Garrison, NY

Sited on a Wyoming mountainside, just below the tree line, this home traverses a steep, east facing slope located just south of Grand Teton National Park. The house is conceived as a series of terraces offering views of the mountainous, vast landscape to the east and minimizing the visual impact of the building from the valley below. Designed for a family of six who share a love for the landscape and all mountain sports, the stepping volumes create separate zones for the family while remaining part of a single cohesive composition that responds to the land. The program includes a cantilevered living area with views to the west, north, and east; a shared fireplace between the dining area and the living area; and a kitchen which opens to the dining room and to an outside shaded terrace. The formal entry is up-slope—convenient to the guest parking area and skiers returning along a favorite, out-of- bounds ski run. The master bedroom occupies the highest point of the design and is above an office and studio, which can are converted into bedrooms. A roof top hot-tub is embedded into the roof of the lowest volume, and a fire table enlivens the mid-level terrace.

Sited on a Wyoming mountainside, just below the tree line, this home traverses a steep, east facing slope located just south of Grand Teton National Park. The house is conceived as a series of terraces offering views of the mountainous, vast landscape to the east and minimizing the visual impact of the building from the valley below. Designed for a family of six who share a love for the landscape and all mountain sports, the stepping volumes create separate zones for the family while remaining part of a single cohesive composition that responds to the land. The program includes a cantilevered living area with views to the west, north, and east; a shared fireplace between the dining area and the living area; and a kitchen which opens to the dining room and to an outside shaded terrace. The formal entry is up-slope—convenient to the guest parking area and skiers returning along a favorite, out-of- bounds ski run. The master bedroom occupies the highest point of the design and is above an office and studio, which can are converted into bedrooms. A roof top hot-tub is embedded into the roof of the lowest volume, and a fire table enlivens the mid-level terrace.

Sited on a Wyoming mountainside, just below the tree line, this home traverses a steep, east facing slope located just south of Grand Teton National Park. The house is conceived as a series of terraces offering views of the mountainous, vast landscape to the east and minimizing the visual impact of the building from the valley below. Designed for a family of six who share a love for the landscape and all mountain sports, the stepping volumes create separate zones for the family while remaining part of a single cohesive composition that responds to the land. The program includes a cantilevered living area with views to the west, north, and east; a shared fireplace between the dining area and the living area; and a kitchen which opens to the dining room and to an outside shaded terrace. The formal entry is up-slope—convenient to the guest parking area and skiers returning along a favorite, out-of- bounds ski run. The master bedroom occupies the highest point of the design and is above an office and studio, which can are converted into bedrooms. A roof top hot-tub is embedded into the roof of the lowest volume, and a fire table enlivens the mid-level terrace.

From Fuller / Overby: “The site for the Nebo House is a long, narrow plot in the Appalachian foothills that slopes downward to Lake James. The main floor is embedded into the hillside, like a hunter’s blind, with a central courtyard splitting the primary program into two wings. To the east of the courtyard are social areas and to the west is a private sleeping and bathing suite—day and night. A hall which acts as a mechanical and structural spine along the rear retaining wall connects the private and public spaces. The larger, public zones of the interior radiate outward from the courtyard and gradually break up into more intimate niches around the periphery that provide semi-private moments within the open living areas. Views are focused outward to the lake, while southern light filters in from clerestory windows above. A sculpted cantilever staircase slices upward to the entry and guest rooms, forming a continuous three dimensional void capped by a skylight at its peak. Above grade, the house appears as a cluster of small pavilions along the hillside, framing the lake and mountains beyond.”

From Fuller / Overby: “The site for the Nebo House is a long, narrow plot in the Appalachian foothills that slopes downward to Lake James. The main floor is embedded into the hillside, like a hunter’s blind, with a central courtyard splitting the primary program into two wings. To the east of the courtyard are social areas and to the west is a private sleeping and bathing suite—day and night. A hall which acts as a mechanical and structural spine along the rear retaining wall connects the private and public spaces. The larger, public zones of the interior radiate outward from the courtyard and gradually break up into more intimate niches around the periphery that provide semi-private moments within the open living areas. Views are focused outward to the lake, while southern light filters in from clerestory windows above. A sculpted cantilever staircase slices upward to the entry and guest rooms, forming a continuous three dimensional void capped by a skylight at its peak. Above grade, the house appears as a cluster of small pavilions along the hillside, framing the lake and mountains beyond.”

From Fuller / Overby: “The site for the Nebo House is a long, narrow plot in the Appalachian foothills that slopes downward to Lake James. The main floor is embedded into the hillside, like a hunter’s blind, with a central courtyard splitting the primary program into two wings. To the east of the courtyard are social areas and to the west is a private sleeping and bathing suite—day and night. A hall which acts as a mechanical and structural spine along the rear retaining wall connects the private and public spaces. The larger, public zones of the interior radiate outward from the courtyard and gradually break up into more intimate niches around the periphery that provide semi-private moments within the open living areas. Views are focused outward to the lake, while southern light filters in from clerestory windows above. A sculpted cantilever staircase slices upward to the entry and guest rooms, forming a continuous three dimensional void capped by a skylight at its peak. Above grade, the house appears as a cluster of small pavilions along the hillside, framing the lake and mountains beyond.”

From Fuller / Overby: “The site for the Nebo House is a long, narrow plot in the Appalachian foothills that slopes downward to Lake James. The main floor is embedded into the hillside, like a hunter’s blind, with a central courtyard splitting the primary program into two wings. To the east of the courtyard are social areas and to the west is a private sleeping and bathing suite—day and night. A hall which acts as a mechanical and structural spine along the rear retaining wall connects the private and public spaces. The larger, public zones of the interior radiate outward from the courtyard and gradually break up into more intimate niches around the periphery that provide semi-private moments within the open living areas. Views are focused outward to the lake, while southern light filters in from clerestory windows above. A sculpted cantilever staircase slices upward to the entry and guest rooms, forming a continuous three dimensional void capped by a skylight at its peak. Above grade, the house appears as a cluster of small pavilions along the hillside, framing the lake and mountains beyond.”

Sited on a Wyoming mountainside, just below the tree line, this home traverses a steep, east facing slope located just south of Grand Teton National Park. The house is conceived as a series of terraces offering views of the mountainous, vast landscape to the east and minimizing the visual impact of the building from the valley below. Designed for a family of six who share a love for the landscape and all mountain sports, the stepping volumes create separate zones for the family while remaining part of a single cohesive composition that responds to the land. The program includes a cantilevered living area with views to the west, north, and east; a shared fireplace between the dining area and the living area; and a kitchen which opens to the dining room and to an outside shaded terrace. The formal entry is up-slope—convenient to the guest parking area and skiers returning along a favorite, out-of- bounds ski run. The master bedroom occupies the highest point of the design and is above an office and studio, which can are converted into bedrooms. A roof top hot-tub is embedded into the roof of the lowest volume, and a fire table enlivens the mid-level terrace.

From Fuller / Overby: “The site for the Nebo House is a long, narrow plot in the Appalachian foothills that slopes downward to Lake James. The main floor is embedded into the hillside, like a hunter’s blind, with a central courtyard splitting the primary program into two wings. To the east of the courtyard are social areas and to the west is a private sleeping and bathing suite—day and night. A hall which acts as a mechanical and structural spine along the rear retaining wall connects the private and public spaces. The larger, public zones of the interior radiate outward from the courtyard and gradually break up into more intimate niches around the periphery that provide semi-private moments within the open living areas. Views are focused outward to the lake, while southern light filters in from clerestory windows above. A sculpted cantilever staircase slices upward to the entry and guest rooms, forming a continuous three dimensional void capped by a skylight at its peak. Above grade, the house appears as a cluster of small pavilions along the hillside, framing the lake and mountains beyond.”

From Fuller / Overby: “The site for the Nebo House is a long, narrow plot in the Appalachian foothills that slopes downward to Lake James. The main floor is embedded into the hillside, like a hunter’s blind, with a central courtyard splitting the primary program into two wings. To the east of the courtyard are social areas and to the west is a private sleeping and bathing suite—day and night. A hall which acts as a mechanical and structural spine along the rear retaining wall connects the private and public spaces. The larger, public zones of the interior radiate outward from the courtyard and gradually break up into more intimate niches around the periphery that provide semi-private moments within the open living areas. Views are focused outward to the lake, while southern light filters in from clerestory windows above. A sculpted cantilever staircase slices upward to the entry and guest rooms, forming a continuous three dimensional void capped by a skylight at its peak. Above grade, the house appears as a cluster of small pavilions along the hillside, framing the lake and mountains beyond.”