Boulderspace

The original house’s location on the site, its modesty, pleasing form and proportions provided design cues. Consideration was paid to the size, scale, mass, materials, texture and window proportions of the existing and neighboring houses, creating an ideal marriage of modern design with traditional context. This architect couple decided to buck the trend toward McMansions in Boulder by designing an affordable, environmentally sustainable house that respects the adjacent vernacular houses and surrounding neighborhood, yet is clearly of its time.

The original house was offset close to the northern property line, creating a wide south-facing side yard. This was ideal for a passive solar house and was a cue for the planned addition. Designing the addition to the rear of the existing house exploited the passive solar opportunity and created an opportunity for a processional entry sidling along the house through a sequence of transitional spaces – from public space, to semi-private courtyard space, to covered space, and finally to interior space. The architects embedded the addition two feet into the ground, using the earth as heat sink to keep the house cool in the summer and warm during the winter. They terraced the yard down in step with the addition, creating a variety of outdoor “rooms,” taking full advantage of Boulder’s climate and
outdoor living possibilities.

Embedding the house into the earth placed it below the water table and as much as 20,000 gallons of ground water per day had to be dealt with. A fish pond fed by the ground water was strategically placed in the courtyard to provide evaporative cooling to that outdoor “room.” A thriving landscape of flowers and plants and a vegetable garden are irrigated from the fish pond. The design focus was on space quality and efficiency over quantity. This house demonstrates how good design can achieve economy and environmental sustainability and preserve neighborhood character. Space-saving measures do not have to be claustrophobic. Sustainable design does not have to resort to expensive high-tech solutions or odd-looking buildings. Designing small enables more of the cost to be applied toward better materials and workmanship, ensuring long-term durability and low-cost operation. It is often the simple solutions that vernacular construction has employed for thousands of years, such as shade, ventilation, solar solar orientation and craftsmanship, which have the greatest sustainability impacts.

Interior Images:

Links:
726 Pine Street - Landmarks of the Future
505 Geneva Ave. - Landmarks of the Future
3076 7th Street - Landmarks of the Future
Historic Boulder

Tags: 2016 9th Street, Bruce Katz Photo, Hisotric Boulder, Landmarks of the Future, Mark Lewis Photography