Ten years ago, I wrote The Good Home to advocate for high quality, innovative homes that could be created with off-the-shelf materials and modest footprints. To me, a good home is filled with natural light and views, planned with spacious useful rooms, and built in harmony with nature. By contrast, the height of the housing boom saw two million new homes being built each year, and 80% of them went up on excavations of agricultural land, woodlands and wetlands. These cookie-cutter homes also grew in size—nearly doubling—gobbling up even more rural land and energy resources. Bigger homes translated into bigger profits for many, until a great depression of the housing market put the brakes on this devastating sprawl. Importantly, the residential construction industry and the American people are now presented with a unique opportunity to rethink how we want to build our homes. Photovoltaics, wind and geothermal technologies are touted as the answer but green energy alone is not the solution; throwing solar energy inefficient home
A Letter From
Dennis Wedlick
panels on a conventional, is like putting a saddle
on a hippo. Designing and building innovative, energy efficient homes will get us to a greener world a whole lot faster. My firm’s collaboration with clients, consultants, builders and regional developers over the past ten years has taught me that creating good homes must now also include superior energy performance, turning an already good home into a greater good home (or > good home). This belief has culminated in The Hudson Passive Project, a home so efficient it requires only a small fraction of the energy used to power conventional homes. The design is a game-changing approach to residential development, but the principles behind the > good home are applicable to all homes and can be achieved over time through small improvements. We are confident that homebuyers will embrace green architecture and hopefully homebuilders will finally be ready to do the same. Our rural landscape and resources simply cannot survive another round of sprawl—even if it is covered with solar panels. And that is the point of this paper.
> Good Home statistics based on information from the National Association of Home Builders, US Census Bureau, US Department of Agriculture, New York State Department of Energy.
4 | The > Good Home Paper
It’s not the technology, it’s the architecture | 5
… are solid structures built from renewable, salvaged materials found close to home.
… are passively heated and cooled.
… are easy to create, go up quickly, and are adaptable to a wide variety of locations.
… are wellinsulated using lightweight materials like feather, cotton, and yarn that trap air between the layers.
… are well-built, efficient and practical.
Birds have successfully tended to their families in good homes for thousands of years. If they can do it, why can’t we?
P r o j e c t | Stanfordville Farmhouse, 3450 Square Feet (2004)
Author Janine Benyus spells out this line of thinking in her acclaimed book, Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature. Since nature has created some incredible architecture she was able to pinpoint a few fundamentals that would assure people similar results: 1) form follows function; 2) use only what is needed; and 3) run off the power of the sun.
Form Follows Function
Use Only What Is Needed
Run Off The Power Of The Sun
It's a phrase that every architecture student learns as the bedrock principle of retro-modern design. Back then, it was said there was no need for decorative columns if they served no function, no need to have a pitched roof if you could get away with a flat roof, no need to walk up a flight of steps to get to the front door if you could walk in level to the ground. Form Follows Function gave us the modern homes of the 1960’s. Today, there is a more modern way of interpreting that solid advice: Shelters should be designed to suit people’s fundamental needs and enduring aspirations—they should be efficient, practical and expressive.
This refers to the remarkable good sense of Nature. Who doesn’t love it when they accomplish a task efficiently, without wasting time or steps? It’s just plain smart.
We all love sunlight. Nature flourishes from the sun and so do people. Sunshine lifts our mood and provides the food that fuels us. A home can be shaped with windows and overhangs that are precisely located to allow the sun to light, heat and even cool through airflow, all for free. A home can be planned so that even the slightest breeze can be accelerated by manipulating the interior air pressure.
Why waste resources and space on rooms that serve no function for your everyday life? Why build a home that doesn’t make the best use of free resources like sunlight, summer breezes and open views? Why build a home whose appearance has no enduring character?
Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature by Janine M. Benyus, Harper Collins, NY, NY 2002
Houses that can turn on lights, crank up the stereo and raise the blinds are labeled “smart houses”—but are they really? A green home can provide all the comforts and conveniences of a conventional home using only a small fraction of our natural resources. A green home can rely entirely on the way it’s built to keep its occupants warm or cool. Like a giant thermos, a well-built home manages to keep the temperature of the interior so constant and stable that the heat hardly ever needs to be turned on. Imagine never having another heating bill. Now that is a smart house!
When there is a constant and strong breeze, there is no need for air-conditioning. Like the sun and the wind, the earth itself offers a natural way to heat and cool. Homes that work their way even partially into the earth take advantage of the earth's constant temperature without an investment in geothermal gadgetry. Learning how to take advantage of nature’s free energy is what green architecture is all about.
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Few Good Room
s
It’s not the technology, it’s the architecture | 7
475 S Q U A R E F EE T
P r o j e c t | Great Room, Lazy Bear Ranch
Why square footage does not matter. Developers, brokers and real estate gurus have trained homebuyers to think in square feet, convincing them that adding hundreds of square feet of floor space automatically makes a home better. The truth is, you cannot judge worth and efficiency by size. A bigger home, like a bigger balloon, is mostly just a lot more air. I once asked a developer how much their cookie-cutter colonial would cost to build if it were half the size. The answer was not much less. Here’s why: It would still have the same number of windows and doors, fixtures and appliances and a stair case; it would just have a little less concrete and a lot less sheet rock. This is a nice trick since the bigger house would sell for twice as much if you judge it only by its square footage. But what if you judged it for the space and resources that are wasted…would you then say it is only half as good? Today, we demand efficiency and value in our cars, our flat screen TVs and iPhones, in our
clothing and our food. Why shouldn’t we demand efficiency and value in our homes?
A good home is one that delivers good value through efficient, practical, and expressive design functionality. Almost every family has the same needs in a home: rooms to use together and rooms to be alone, places to eat and sleep, and opportunities to make it their own. A big home that accomplishes this with no soul and no character will be a bore and an expense to live in once the thrill of having “all that square footage” wears off. So why do people end up in too-big homes? The answer is fear. People have been convinced that for resale, only bigger is better, that an innovative home with a modest footprint will not be appreciated when it’s time to sell, even if it is more efficient and of a higher quality.
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It’s not the technology, it’s the architecture | 9
Fortunately, there are some people who have not bought into the fear and have created their personal vision of an ideal home. People who understood that a place filled with character, soul and sensibility would be the only home worth building. How do you measure if a home lives up to such standards? Certainly not by the square foot, because good rooms with great character actually look bigger and serve more functions than their square footage might lead you to believe. You can judge how well the architecture functions by asking yourself these questions: Is it well built? Does it suit the setting? Does it match its function? Trust your heart but use your head when planning your next home or renovation. Invest in quality, not simply in square footage. Quality does not come cheap, it’s better to invest in a few good rooms. A good
275
S Q U A R E F EE T
P r o j e c t | Four Seasons Room, Spencertown Cottage
room will be able to serve multiple functions so you get more out of it than a one-use-only room. A formal living room or dining room is generally reserved for guests and is never used otherwise. What is the purpose of these rooms and how did they come about? The purpose is to assure the homeowner that there are at least two rooms in the house that will always be impressive. Who’s to say that the everyday living and dining space of the house can’t be impressive? An architecturally interesting space has the “wow factor” all the time. Not only is the old way of thinking a waste of space it is also a waste of energy: Heating and cooling rooms that are hardly ever used squanders resources and money needlessly. What makes a good room good? A well-shaped room can provide an enduring sense of interest for its occupants. Strategically placed
windows can provide any home with a spectacular view of nature, even if it is just the expansiveness of the sky or the stars at night. A tall room that has a corresponding set of carefully placed tall windows will bring the outdoors in, making even a modest footprint seem palatial. Rooms designed to respond to the specific climatic conditions of the outdoors— summer sun can be shaded, and north winds can be shielded—are easier to heat and cool. When it comes to good rooms, we could go on and on.
good architecture is determined by the quality of the spaces. Harmony, usefulness, and delight are the measure of quality.
350 S Q U A R E F EE T
P r o j e c t | Cabin with Loft, Sagaponack Studio
10 | The > Good Home Paper
percent of your heat is going right out the window.
The Promise of Passive it is possible to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels without relying on solar panels, wind turbines, geothermal or other alternative energy technologies. it is possible to have a near-zero carbon footprint simply with good design. it is possible to create a good home that heats and cools itself passively, mostly with the warmth of the sun and the coolness of fresh air. it is possible to use a fraction of energy without sacrificing an ounce of comfort. it is possible to achieve the highest quality, green home, a > good home that uses minimal energy, space and materials. it is possible to do all this and still have a good home that benefits from spectacular views, dramatic interiors, character and soul.
it is possible to do all this with just architecture.
Use only what you need o k , n ow I ' m a n g ry
would you
No wonder our globe is warming.
yikes
Like running your AC with the windows open.
Eat one slice and throw the rest of the loaf away?
n o t h umb s u p
or
Your house is like swiss cheese... filled with holes.
o n e t h umb u p
Respectable. Like holding hands on a first date.
fill a tub of bath water every time you wash your hands?
t wo t h umb s u p
Then why do it with the world's most precious resources?
Steps
TOWARD a good home
Use this much and a tree will hug you.
H o o r ay
Even green homes are green with envy.
1
2
3
4
5
Let the sun in!
Beat the draft!
Wrap it up!
Capture the heat!
Max out your space!
Tap into the sun during the day for light and heat; drop the shades at night to keep the warmth inside. It’s an exact science of sun angles, shade patterns and airflow. And it works. Even in the middle of the hottest summer day, a home can be as comfortable as sitting under a shady tree.
Most of your energy is slipping out through cracks in drafty doorways, open flues and gaps in exterior walls. When renovating, seal those gaps, tune up your heating equipment and replace leaky windows and doors. When building new, invest in greener architecture which is built better and uses 90% less.
Consider this: Easy to install air-to-air energy exchangers can supply your home with fresh air all the time, any time of year, with hardly any energy loss. The incoming air steals the heat of the air going out as it passes through a heat exchanging chamber. This constant pull of fresh air gives a passive house dramatically better air quality than a conventional home.
Wasted space translates into wasted energy. Reduce your BTU consumption by maximizing the use of your heated and cooled spaces. Don’t add on, remodel; re-design your living room to seat more; re-think your kitchen to work better; re-do your bedroom to be used as your home office too. When building new, remember it’s not how big your home is, but how big it feels.
Create an uninterrupted envelope of insulation. Imagine sleeping outdoors on a cold winter night with a sleeping bag that has holes in it every 16 inches from one end to the other. That’s what happens when the blankets of insulation keeping a house warm can only be fitted between the wall studs that stand every 16 inches, instead of completely wrapping the exterior structure.
It’s not the technology, it’s the architecture | 15
P r o j e c t | The Hudson Passive Project, 1650 Square Feet | Claverack, NY (Fall 2010)
The Hudson Passive Project incorporates all 5 steps toward a > Good Home.
Authority, The Hudson Passive Project will be completed Fall, 2010 in Claverack, New York, in the heart of the Hudson Valley.
As homeowners, designers, and builders, we know we can do more to save our natural resources than otherwise thought possible.
This modern, barn-style home will be passively heated and cooled and use just 17% of the total energy when compared to the conventional three-bedroom, twobath home. A home-of-the-future prototype, developed with financial support from the New York State Energy Research and Development
All who contributed to The Hudson Passive Project believe that by encouraging innovative, energy efficient and enduring homes today, we can help assure a greener, more sustainable planet for tomorrow. Few realize that nearly as much energy is used in our nation’s homes as in our factories.
For more information on The Hudson Passive Project visit www.thegoodhome.com; we’d love to make you part of the > Good Home Movement.
The Hudson Passive Project
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It’s not the technology, it’s the architecture | 17
shades of green
Personal stories on cuttingedge, healthier, country homes.
a b o v e | Spring River Residence, 3200 Square Feet
b e l o w | Hillsdale Residence, 2100 Square Feet
18 | The > Good Home Paper
It’s not the technology, it’s the architecture | 19
3200 S Q U A R E F EE T
For Ron, a part-time rural resident, connecting to the land personally and spiritually was a journey that began when he found a tiny, affordable slice of woodland property to which he could retreat after a hard day at work. He was looking for a twist on an Arts and Crafts style home, drawn to the inspiration that American natural history had on these designs.
Ron intuitively translated his Arts and Crafts aesthetic into a green house, but unlike the prissy, woodland cottages of the 19th century, he wanted a finger-snap bold version that had a big modern, Soho-like feel. His desire for generous volume with a small footprint allowed the science of passive solar design to work its magic. The resulting interior operates very much the same way as a deciduous forest. In the winter, the low-lying sun penetrates deep into all spaces, warming them up for free; in the summer, the sun beams down from high in the sky and the home’s generous overhangs block it out almost completely, keeping the interior cool—also free of charge! Ron’s home harnesses the sun. At just 2,100 square feet, Ron’s house uses its square footage diligently, committing the bulk of it to one big room used for nearly all household activities from dinner parties to laundry-folding. Bedrooms are modest in size and cost-effectively tucked into a split-level arrangement with half a level above ground and half below. A tall screenedin porch squeezes up tight against the towering pines on the land. This is perhaps the most luxurious space in the house, reflecting a playful character and providing the ideal outdoor living environment—wide open views, fresh air, and no bugs. The house is passively heated and cooled with strategically placed windows and a layout that promotes good airflow. The structure is fully separated from harsh weather by an uninterrupted insulated wrapping and the electricity is hardwired to run from solar panels set onto a south-facing sloped roof.
The large parcel of Michigan farmland on which Lucy and Michael ultimately built had been in Lucy’s family for generations. This was to be a house for both life and work; both of them like to work from home. Part farmhouse, part villa, their dream was to create a modern version of a Neo-classical Plantation style home because it symbolized the magnificence of our American agriculture heritage. The couple came to us with two visions, two appreciations for the American rural landscape and two very different designs to conserve it.
A neo-classical estate does not come to mind when thinking about green architecture, yet Lucy and Michael were able to hold onto tradition and grandeur while at the same time pursue renewal and conservation. From the front, Lucy and Michael’s house is the epitome of Greek Revival with an orderly set of double-hung windows. The modern distortion is only revealed when you step inside: The entire west-facing façade of the home is made of glass. This wall of windows is placed next to a stand of deciduous trees at precisely the right distance to harness the power of the sun. In the winter, with the leaves off the trees, sunlight comes pouring in. In fact, there is so much sun that even on the coldest days, the family keeps a window cracked for fresh air. Leaves come out in the summer and even though the angle of the sun is high, there is plenty of shade to keep the interior cool. Once again, superior construction and super insulation allow minimal energy to be used to maintain the home’s comfortable temperature. Tapping into additional free energy that lies underground, Lucy and Michael opted to invest in geothermal power to help generate the heat that warms the house. The system runs liquid through tubes that are warmed by the constant temperature of the ground. The heat is then distributed by air blown over the tubes.
2100 P r o j e c t | Hillsdale Residence, 3 Bed 2 Bath Woodland Cottage
S Q U A R E F EE T
P r o j e c t | Spring River Residence, 4 Bed 3 Bath Country Estate
It works in reverse of the climate, cooling in the summer (think of the refreshing feel of a cool basement) and warming in the winter. But the real green power of this foxy modern interior is in its dignified classical exterior and the simple quality of ample space. Strategically placed windows move the air around as if it were out in the meadows that surround the house: Who needs air conditioning? The horizon of the ceiling is twice as high as traditional homes—so high, in fact, that it is always out of view, as if the pale grey-blue surface above is nothing but sky. Square footage was spent lavishly only on the two most important rooms of the house, the family room and the kitchen. The home office, master and kids’ room are off in a modest wing to the side and another long, narrow wing serves as the mudroom and pantry. There is no wasted space. There is no fancy parlor or dining room. Who needs them when your everyday space is this dramatic?
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It’s not the technology, it’s the architecture | 21
Five hundred years ago, long before home design journals encouraged Hudson Valley residents to build homes that were visually harmonious with nature, the original New Yorkers—the Iroquois—were living in homes that were not only aesthetically appealing but also healthy to live in. Their homes were resource independent and ecologically sound, the perfect example of a > good home. The Iroquois Longhouse looked like a nest turned on its head, an elegant and organic home built from a network of interconnected wood struts anchored into the ground and thickly covered with leather and straw. Yet at the southern end it was wide open to harness the power of the sun—solar power. The sun’s winter angle is low to the ground and comes entirely from the south, thus allowing the maximum amount of sun light and “solar” heat to penetrate the home. A long, open floor plan provided for living, dining and sleeping all under one wide, arched structure; the high ceiling and strategically located vent holes allowed for easy air-flow while the solidity of the sidewalls kept the family safe and warm. An ideal farm homestead, these compact longhouses were built in clusters allowing for a minimal footprint so the Iroquois people could maximize all available land for life-sustaining hedgerows and farm fields. From that point on, ecologically speaking, things only went downhill. By the mid-1800’s, the Industrial Revolution was in full swing and the Hudson River Valley had reached a crisis: Its river was polluted from industrial waste; its forests were being over-logged; its mountains, cliffs and hillsides were scarred from mining; and its farmland was being depleted by urban sprawl. Thankfully, it did not go unnoticed. Led by a grassroots movement of artists and artisans, today’s conservation movement was born. Each in their respective field had a prescription for promoting and tapping into the benefits of nature while at the same time sustaining it.
The green movement of today owes everything to visionaries like Downing, a gardener and architect, who created America’s first home design books. What he wrote then is just as relevant today: “Beauty grows out of the enrichment of some useful or elegant features of the house as the windows and verandas” which create “a harmonious union between the architecture and the landscape”. The picturesque architect firmly believes that the beauty of the rural landscape can be preserved in large part by encouraging an appreciation of the environment, agriculture and wildlife and fostering the construction of rurally-sensitive places to live. Fast forward to twenty-first century architecture where futuristic designs are now being explored using these very same nature-inspired techniques to create affordable, prefabricated green structures that require little-to-no energy to keep them heated or cooled. Thanks to A.J. Downing, the Hudson Valley homes of tomorrow will be able to accomplish all he had aspired to and more. The homes of tomorrow will not only be able to power themselves from the sun, wind and ground like the Iroquois, they will have the ability to produce more energy than the household can consume and, in turn, this homemade, clean energy can power nearby farms, schools, and industries. Waste not, want not is the principle behind the picturesque homes of tomorrow and it can be accomplished without compromise and with the unique aesthetic that best reflects the heritage and heart of those that live within. By investing today in developing these > good homes of tomorrow, the future is very bright indeed for the Hudson Valley and all rural landscapes of America.
In architecture, it was Andrew Jackson Downing who fixed his attention on encouraging smarter, healthier and greener homes, what I would call “The Good Home” 150 years later.
A Brief History of Architectural Harmony in the Hudson Valley
17th Century
18th Century
19th Century
20th Century
21st Century
Nat i v e A m e r i c a n L o n g H o u s e
Bow House
A.J. Downing
P h i l i p J o h n s o n O n e ta H o u s e
T h e Hu d s o n Pa s s i v e Pr o j e c t
The original New Yorkers, the Iroquois, were living in homes that were not only aesthetically appealing but also healthy to live in.
Named because the roof is shaped to match the inverted bow of a ship, many believe that the bow rafters of the early homes were salvaged from the bow of the ships that were wrecked on Cape Cod.
A house by Downing, a gardener, and later an architect, who found himself creating America’s first home design books.
Johnson built homes that used uninterrupted spans of windows to blur the separation between the indoors and the outdoors.
Futuristic designs are being explored using these very same natureinspired techniques to create affordable, green structures.
Source: Cottage Residences, A Series of Designs for Rural Cottages and Country Villas; 1873; published by John Wiley and Sons. AJ Downing was the author.
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It’s not the technology, it’s the architecture | 23
Good Homes Make For…
good jobs
goodgoodcommunities ecosystems Achieving a good home—one that is better built, healthier and in harmony with its surroundings— takes hard work but the return is not only a one-of-a-kind home, it is a wide reaching act of good will.
Good Homes support the community. Local artisans, builders, craftspeople, manufacturers.
Good Homes support the land. Conserve land, trees, water, electricity.
Good Homes support the globe.
P r o j e c t | Irvington Residence
Dennis Wedlick Architect LLC
Tribeca Studio 85 Worth Street, 4th floor New York, NY 10013
Hudson River Studio 17 North 4th Street Hudson, NY 12534
www.denniswedlick.com
To learn more about our innovative, earth friendly design please visit us at www.thegoodhome.com
The goal of Dennis Wedlick Architect LLC and all those who have supported the mission of the Hudson Passive Project is to build the prototype picturesque home of tomorrow, a home that will help conserve our natural resources and rural landscapes. The prototype, designed by Dennis Wedlick Architect LLC, was developed in collaboration with Frank Sciame of Sciame Construction. The building science research was funded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and provided by the Levy Partnership. Hudson Valley green builder Bill Stratton Building Company has funded the construction of the prototype and has devised a way to realize a fully functional > good home within just three months of breaking ground. Leaders in residential design and manufacturers of state-of-the-art green building products have joined forces to equip the Hudson Passive Project with their finest and greenest building products. Hudson Valley artisans will add the finishing handcrafted touches to assure that the design is not only environmentally sensitive but picturesque, in the spirit of A. J. Downing. The greenest home is one that is built from the architecture of heart and soul. Character and good intentions are the most sustainable trait of a > good home.
W i n c h e l l M t. R d Fa r m h o u s e Photograph by Elliott Kaufman (2009)
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> Good home Paper | June 2010
C r e at e d b y DWA and F&M Art Lab D e n n i s W e d l i c k A r c h i t e c t LLC Dennis Wedlick Brian Marsh Alan Barlis
Adriana Gerbig Anna Klein Doug Huntington Nicole Bacani Jessie Young
F & M ART LAB Darren Farrell Ted Mauseth JBO C o m m u n i c at i o n s I n c . Jessica Olshen
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Photography David White —Cover Peter Aaron, Esto—Page 5 Reto Guntli and Agi Simoes —Pages 6, 7, 16-19, 23 Jeff Goldberg, Esto —Page 8 – Sagaponack
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