Welcome to an experiment in living from the Northern California forest. Its owners, a household with two kids, see it as an initial step toward living full-time in a house which produces all its energy.
David Arkin and his team in Arkin Tilt Architects designed an important core construction with an altitude of 4,000 square feet which could be expanded later. Mounted solar panels, a solar heating, concrete flooring and straw-bale walls give it the ability to produce and maintain its energy annually.
at a Glance
Who lives here: A weekend and vacation house for a couple and 2 young sons
Location: East of Nevada City, California
Size: 872 square feet; 1 sleeping loft, 1 bath
Arkin Tilt Architects
Maintaining the house little and under budget were the biggest priorities of the team. Material choice was kept to a minimal, as it was designed to be a residence. Construction was established around simple and durable materials, such as the property’s metal roof and concrete flooring. Salvaged wood siding was used for part of their exterior, although the panels between the walls and the exterior of this elevated bathroom and entry area are made from cement fiberboard that’s stained to look like wood.
Arkin Tilt Architects
The design process began with understanding the environment and coming up with strategies to warm, cool and protect the house. Among the house’s more innovative materials is the use of PISE (pneumatically impacted stabilized earth) cement, filled with rice straw bales for a lasting and wellbeing- and environment-friendly construction.
Arkin Tilt Architects
Glycol solution, that prevents freezing, is pumped via solar hot water panels and into a heat exchanger in a domestic hot water tank and then on into a sand bed under the concrete flooring to warm the house. Electricity is provided through a roof-mounted photovoltaic (PV) panel system.
The roof eave is expanded to shade the house in the summer, and block snow and rain out of hitting the walls from sunlight. The eave itself is comparatively sparse despite the thick structural insulated panels (SIPs) used for roof insulation. Arkin and his staff worked carefully to extend the SIP spines so that they could encourage the 4-foot overhang.
Arkin Tilt Architects
Since this house is presently a part-time residence, it is important that it can withstand lengthy periods without maintenance. The solar heating system disperses heat to the sand bed under the flooring to keep the pipes from freezing.
Arkin Tilt Architects
The living area is tucked into the hillside. A built-in platform that is sleeping removes the requirement for another area.
Arkin Tilt Architects
The lot slopes gently toward the south, so part of this living room wall holds about 4 ft of earth. An insulated framed wall within the cement retaining wall supports the broader straw bales placed over the hillside. Some of this framing has been exposed and doubles as a bookshelf.
Arkin Tilt Architects
The sleeping loft — the sole private sleeping space — sits over the kitchen. The bottom of the attic (and kitchen) is made of terra mai, a salvaged wood merchandise from Asia. The ceiling panels are made through the remainder of the house of pine plywood. Sealers were used on the studs.
Arkin Tilt Architects
The household members did a great deal of the completing decision making on their own — mostly from the kitchen. Most of the interior materials are either prefinished or never completed at all to enhance the inside air quality. The PISE wall finish has a mild grout wash but no other sealer, and the floor is polished concrete.
Arkin Tilt Architects
The smaller part of the cottage is oriented toward the south for the roof solar panels. This segment has an entry, a mudroom and a bath.
The larger part of the cottage steps down in the entryway into a great room with big windows which open up to maximize passive solar gain.
Photography by Eric Millette