David Wright, ArchitectSolar Environmental Architecture Group

This home designed for Doug and Chris Perske is located near Cohasset, Butte County, California. It is at an elevation of 3,000 feet in a beautiful mixed conifer forest setting.
The 1,912 SF house is designed as a passive solar mountain lodge home. The Great Room, Master Suite, Kitchen and Utility Room are on the lower level, with a large Loft, Bath and Guest Room on the upper floor. This rustic mountain home has craftsman style detailing. It is finished on the exterior with a fire resistant fiber cement board and batten siding which looks like native cedar wood. The roof is colored corrugated sheet metal with strategically located skylights for natural daylighting and ventilation. The outside covered porch is supported on pine log columns and a heavy timber arbor on the south gable end of the house provides ample summer shading.
Inside the walls are off-white painted sheetrock, and the ceilings are covered with native cedar 1×6 wood paneling for a rustic warm ambiance. Finely detailed Douglas fir wood is used for trim throughout and the heavy timber beams are supported by log columns. The radiant heated floor is a polished exposed concrete left in a natural color. The shell of the house is 6 inch thick SIP walls, with 8 inch thick SIP roof panels. Even though the house has propane fired radiant heated floor for convenience, a single efficient wood stove can easily heat the highly insulated interior.
There is a complimentary designed detached two car garage and a charming gable roofed entry porch. This neat house nestles into the forest environment creating a warm rustic and charming natural feeling home.

We submitted text and photos for the AIA California Council’s design award’s program. Sadly, we heard that our project was not chosen as a winner. Though we are honored have been considered along with the high quality other entries, we can’t help but wonder what they were thinking in not giving us an award?

Natural Wine Making & Passive Cooled Architecture
•Located in the Nevada County Gold Country this winery is nestled at the bottom of a verdant vineyard.
•This self-sufficient sustainable winery is designed to create handcrafted wine using minimal effort and energy.
•Built into a northerly facing hillside, it uses the earth’s heat sink to keep the temperature below 64° F for fermentation and storage.
•The massive concrete walls and floor provide earth contact cooling.
•The exterior is clad with rusted corrugated metal blending with the natural setting and reminiscent of the mining heritage of the area.
•The structural insulated panel walls and roof act like a large refrigerator box with a freezer type sliding door to limit heat gain.
•The “cool” roof reflects heat and is penetrated by super efficient skylights with operable shades for daylighting.
•Designed for all equipment to be solar electric powered, this “Net-Zero” facility requires no air conditioning or refrigeration to hold the maintenance temperature.
•Buttresses of the 20’ high rear retaining wall provide convenient dividers for the aging barrels.
•The space is carefully laid out to accommodate the multifunctional wine making activities of a single winemaker.
•The building, sized to suit the 40 acre vineyard, is capable of producing 42,000 bottle of wine per year.
•The efficient nature of this “green” facility reflects the heritage of traditional winemaking and the simplicity of passive design.

Remodeling is cost effective in today’s economy! David Wright Associates, AIA have added to, and remodeled, many homes throughout the years with great success. The idea behind remodeling can be for many reasons: expanding, modernizing or energy efficiency. Our goal is to always add some zest or pizzazz to the new home while preserving the sense of place. The following is the start of a sampler of some successful remodels with happy owners.

Byrne Remodel and Addition –This 1980s contractor special was dated, functionally chopped up and did not take advantage of the horse ranch setting or the great views to the adjacent canyon and waterfall.
We added a library, private porch, deck, and a master suite/spa bath wing. This balanced the house on the site and created a dynamic view line and estate lodge character. We designed a dramatic front entry porch creating a lodge like appearance and clearly identifying the main entry point. We clad the exterior walls with a cedar look fireproof horizontal siding and a few touches of log columns and stone to establish the Lodge Headquarters look. New energy efficient windows were added throughout, and to cap it all off, the existing composition shingles were replaced with an earth-red metal roofing for a more elegant rich look.
The vaulted entry porch roof form penetrates into and through the house emerging on the other side with a compelling breakfast bar view from the open modern kitchen. We removed much of the existing angular ceilings in the entry, kitchen, dining and living area; this brightened up the interior and gave a sense of scale to each of the spaces. Wood paneling is installed in the kitchen/breakfast bar and the formal living room creating a warm organic lodge feeling. Special attention was used with lighting and daylighting to enhance ambiance throughout the day and night, and highlighting the Byrne’s art and furnishings. The north wall of the entire space is opened up with new energy efficient windows to maximize the view giving a super indoor / outdoor living experience to the wonderful canyon and waterfall landscape
The new master suite and library addition continues the lodge theme with vaulted ceilings, wood paneling and great views. This wing of the house has a private entry porch, private view deck, cozy library, awesome bedroom and a gracious master bath from which you can observe the birds and deer.
Several cost effective measures were taken: the appliances were replaced with Energy Star high efficiency models; the wall, roof and floor insulation increased; the air conditioning and water heater efficiency upgraded; and efficient lighting was specified throughout. The Byrnes have added enough solar electric panels on the barn to provide all their power needs achieving “Net Zero” consumption.
The owners invested in extensive and tasteful new landscaping which heighten and compliment the new architectural stature of the Ranch Headquarters Lodge
The Byrne home is a fine example of “turning a sow’s ear into a silk purse”. Remodeling and upgrading one’s home today can be a major improvement in comfort and lifestyle; as well as a good investment!

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Mother Earth News engaged David to write an article about how to “plan for the perfect sunroom addition” to a house. The article is in the June / July 2010 issue. We offer the complete plans for building your own custom sunroom. The plans contain: Floor Plan, Exterior Elevations, Cross Section, Details & Specifications. The plans cost $500.00 and are all you need to plan your own sunroom addition,
contact us for the purchase agreement today!

Remodeling involves more than new windows, more insulation and better weather-stripping. An “energy audit” involves monitoring, testing and reviewing all of the energy consuming elements of your home. When you have a checkup by your doctor, the vital signs are monitored, tested and actions diagnosed for your long term health; an energy audit should do the same for your house.

How much electricity, gas, or water are consumed to properly operate your place is an ongoing expense; each can cost you far more than you expect or want to pay. Over time these utility costs may amount to a significant cost that you can avoid. After an audit, analyzing how each is consumed and making corrections is the name of the game.

If your electrical consumption is too high, investing in ENERGY STAR rated appliances, high efficiency light bulbs and installing smart controls will save you many dollars over time. Investing in solar photovoltaic solar electric cells and “time of day” use controls can result in “net zero” metering, almost eliminating future electric bills.

Gas is primarily used for space heating, water heating and cooking. Adding insulation to the outside surfaces of your house, new windows and weather stripping will reduce your heating and air conditioning bills. Adding a solar water heater can almost eliminate hot water cost. The amount of gas consumed can be greatly reduced in most cases by these simple measures.

Household water consumption is normally estimated to be about 50 gallons per day per person in the United States. Water is becoming more costly, whether delivered by pipe to your home, or pumped from a well. By installing flow control devices and water conserving devises, water flow can be monitored to fit specific uses efficiently. Grey water systems are now legal in California and many other States, and they should be used for watering lawns, landscaping and most non potable uses. With a comprehensive water use program, perhaps even collecting and using rain water from your roof, it is reasonable to reduce your individual water consumption to less than 15 gallons per day.

Today there are many good incentives for remodeling an existing home. With the recent real estate implosion it is cheaper to buy a existing house rather than building a new one, by as much as half. Many existing houses are located in desirable locations with mature landscaping, good services, established neighborhoods, schools or even views that a new home location can’t match. Upgrading can produce a highly efficient modern building by recycling an older one; this is the “Green” way to go. The current national focus on energy efficiency has created a wide range of financial incentives for weatherproofing, insulating, installing solar hot water or solar electric, replacing out of date or inefficient appliances, lights and air conditioning systems. Taking advantage of these incentives will save you the initial costs as well as reduce ongoing utility expenses from now on. Utility rates are sure to rise faster than monetary inflation over the long run. Now is a good time to remodel your house, and David Wright Associates, AIA are experienced experts at integrating efficiency, function and aesthetics into home and business remodels.