Gobo Run Shenandoah Valley, VA Residential Architecture Project ...
Gobo Run Shenandoah Valley, VA Residential Architecture
Project Synopsis: Located on a nob of land completely surrounded by National Forest, this 1,700 square foot residence is designed to comfortably house a couple and parent-in-laws. The home’s form and siting is informed wholly by careful studies intended to take advantage of the prevailing winds, solar gain, and to frame specific views of the surrounding mountains and valleys. The design implements passive cooling strategies combined with a glycol solar heated slab to minimize dependence on the grid. The location and size of the windows are designed to provide cross ventilation in the most frequently used areas. The guest pod and main house are connected by a nod to the southern vernacular dogtrot, which provides space for gathering while also harnessing the cooling breezes falling from a nearby mountaintop. The home’s position within the clearing takes advantage of the numerous deciduous trees to assist in the control of sunlight. Along with deep overhangs and careful, intentional shifting of the forms, summer heat gain is kept to a minimum in this passively cooled home. The concrete slab acts as a heat sink for the winter sun to further reduce reliance on the solar heating system. The Owners selected this parcel of land on which to build because they fell in love with views of the surrounding peaks, valleys, and forest. Rooms and fenestration were laid out to highlight the views at specific times of day and year, when the occupants’ activity within the home coincided with the most picturesque times to appreciate their surroundings. The home is clad in tongue and groove cypress boards milled from reclaimed fallen trees hardened from years of being submerged in river banks. The hardened cypress is left untreated and will weather with age to further compliment the zinc cladding used elsewhere on the home. The interior concrete floor is burnished and sealed, but left exposed, to provide for the most efficient delivery of heat from the solar heated glycol system. The house's form and sloping rooflines are intended to evoke and compliment the surrounding topography, and the clearing/meadow will be allowed to grow naturally around and up to the house. The program includes a main house, with one bedroom, study (flex room), master bath, kitchen, and living/dining areas. A separate guest "pod" allows for additional private accommodations, including a living room, kitchen, bedroom and bath. The dogtrot separating the structures allows for protected, covered space for outdoor entertaining and contains a wood-fueled fireplace that doubles as an oven for food preparation. The clients desired a sustainable home, durable/no maintenance materials, connection to the exterior at every opportunity, and very specific views of the valley, mountains, and forest. The fenestration and layout of the space places the residents in locations within the house with framed views of the valley, mountains, and forest at important times of the day/year. Due to the placement/size of windows, the siting of the home, the choice of materials, use of wood-burning stoves and solar array/radiant heat system, the home is comfortable without the need for connection to the electrical grid, even in extreme weather conditions. The home's limited palette of materials are durable and require little or no maintenance. Reclaimed, hardened cypress and zinc panels will patina to a warm grey. The large windows are operable allowing free movement between the interior and exterior.
Project Synopsis: Located on a nob of land completely surrounded by National Forest, this 1,700 square foot residence is designed to comfortably house a couple and parent-in-laws. The home’s form and siting is informed wholly by careful studies intended to take advantage of the prevailing winds, solar gain, and to frame specific views of the surrounding mountains and valleys. The design implements passive cooling strategies combined with a glycol solar heated slab to minimize dependence on the grid. The location and size of the windows are designed to provide cross ventilation in the most frequently used areas. The guest pod and main house are connected by a nod to the southern vernacular dogtrot, which provides space for gathering while also harnessing the cooling breezes falling from a nearby mountaintop. The home’s position within the clearing takes advantage of the numerous deciduous trees to assist in the control of sunlight. Along with deep overhangs and careful, intentional shifting of the forms, summer heat gain is kept to a minimum in this passively cooled home. The concrete slab acts as a heat sink for the winter sun to further reduce reliance on the solar heating system. The Owners selected this parcel of land on which to build because they fell in love with views of the surrounding peaks, valleys, and forest. Rooms and fenestration were laid out to highlight the views at specific times of day and year, when the occupants’ activity within the home coincided with the most picturesque times to appreciate their surroundings. The home is clad in tongue and groove cypress boards milled from reclaimed fallen trees hardened from years of being submerged in river banks. The hardened cypress is left untreated and will weather with age to further compliment the zinc cladding used elsewhere on the home. The interior concrete floor is burnished and sealed, but left exposed, to provide for the most efficient delivery of heat from the solar heated glycol system. The house's form and sloping rooflines are intended to evoke and compliment the surrounding topography, and the clearing/meadow will be allowed to grow naturally around and up to the house. The program includes a main house, with one bedroom, study (flex room), master bath, kitchen, and living/dining areas. A separate guest "pod" allows for additional private accommodations, including a living room, kitchen, bedroom and bath. The dogtrot separating the structures allows for protected, covered space for outdoor entertaining and contains a wood-fueled fireplace that doubles as an oven for food preparation. The clients desired a sustainable home, durable/no maintenance materials, connection to the exterior at every opportunity, and very specific views of the valley, mountains, and forest. The fenestration and layout of the space places the residents in locations within the house with framed views of the valley, mountains, and forest at important times of the day/year. Due to the placement/size of windows, the siting of the home, the choice of materials, use of wood-burning stoves and solar array/radiant heat system, the home is comfortable without the need for connection to the electrical grid, even in extreme weather conditions. The home's limited palette of materials are durable and require little or no maintenance. Reclaimed, hardened cypress and zinc panels will patina to a warm grey. The large windows are operable allowing free movement between the interior and exterior.
