The “Just Big Enough” Competition (2017) presented an opportunity to showcase cost-effective design concepts and to implement ambitious energy-conserving strategies in a model project. 

The brief included three single-family homes within a very tight footprint.  Each residence uses the same materials and design elements.  Approaching each home, the resident is met with warm-toned thermally modified wood siding. The volume of the kitchen in each house stands out from the facade both physically and visually, as it is clad with wood of a different pattern than the body of the house. The roof of each one-story home has a single pitch with a geometrically simple dormer.

Features of the houses:

  • Natural, non-toxic building materials

  • Shallow slab-on-grade and panelized construction minimizes the disturbance to the site, preserving vegetation and soil

  • High-performance construction and detailing:

    • Floor slab - R-20 insulated slabs

    • 12” wall cavities with cellulose insulation - R-42

    • Engineered wood beams - R-60 roofs

  • Photovoltaic arrays, making each house net-zero capable

  • Rainwater is collected and channeled through rain gardens for infiltration


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