Solar House

Mom, Dad, and six children share a love of water, nature, and a slower paced lifestyle in this home located at the confluence of the Chesapeake Bay and the Rappahannock River. The program called for low maintenance, passive solar heating, and disrupting the natural ecosystem as little as possible during construction. Cooling is facilitated by a turbine ventilator. The interior mezzanine rail is comprised of water filled containers that are heated when sun enters from the skylights. The chimney column contains smooth river rocks where warm, stratified air is circulated to the house for heating.

Natural cedar shingles were used for the roof and vertical tongue and groove wood siding was used on the walls.