Drawn to green
Manhattanite Timothy Barry”™s vision for a new country getaway home is no “design on a dime” deal. The developer took a trip via the Internet, searching for a LEED-accredited architect near the property he bought in Putnam County. He found one who just happened to be just 15 minutes away from his parcel: River Architects in Cold Spring.
“Timothy wants to build a home that is virtually maintenance free but ecologically friendly,” said architect Juhee Lee Hartford, River Architects”™ co-owner. “My husband, James, became interested in sustainable building practices long before it became the rage and got his LEED accreditation very early on.”
She and James had traveled to her Korean homeland to study how East could meet West in design and creativity, and both were ready to take on a different kind of project.
To their mutual delight, they and the developer were a match. Working with Barry “has been an extraordinary pleasure,” the Hartfords concurred. “He had definite ideas about the home he wanted to build; we brought our knowledge and ideas to him. Most people bicker, but we don”™t ”“ we brainstorm.”
“I never dreamed Google maps would find such extraordinary talent … and two of the most pleasant people I”™ve ever worked with,” Barry said. “We have plenty of positive discussion and respect each others”™Â input. It”™s truly been remarkable working with them.”
“A challenge? You bet,” declared Juhee, “but we were instinctively drawn to this project because Timothy cares so much about creating an environmentally friendly, but low-maintenance home and so do we. Now, we”™ve been given the opportunity to build it.” The Hartfords also act as construction managers for the project.
The 2,800-square-foot dwelling on five acres off East Mountain Road North in Philipstown offers steel and wood frame construction. Three bedrooms, one a master suite with a windowed wall overlooking the forest canopy, along with separate dining and living space opening onto a 1,000-square-foot deck, make up the heart of the main living quarters.
Access to the home is via a staircase leading from the 1,000-square-foot office on the first floor. A carport will offer access into the office and home above. ?Exterior walls are composed of eight inches of expanded polystyrene sandwiched between plywood. Outdoor siding is material made from paper and resin, a material more commonly found in skateboard parks “but which offers amazing endurance and retains its color,” James said.
“The interior walls are panels made from diatomaceous earth, which has plaster-like qualities but is totally organic ”“ and you can create colors with it so there is no painting needed,” he said. The office floor, with radiant heat beneath it to keep the space cozy, will be covered with ceramic tile. The second floor will be covered in bamboo flooring.
Triple glazed windows, combined with polystyrene insulation in the ceiling, sub-floor and roof will give the home an R-value far exceeding code requirements, the architects said. Save for the master bedroom, most of the home”™s windows will face south to take advantage of natural daylight and keep heating and cooling costs at a minimum.
“We designed the roof to allow hot air to escape during the summer and cold air could be kept out during the winter,” Juhee said. “It is ”˜breathing,”™ but not the way a traditional roof does. Its design is much more efficient and will help keep heating and cooling costs down.”
The architects chose a Daikin Altherma system, rather than geothermal heating and cooling.
“The system heats the space and produces domestic hot water and used to cool space through its heat pump design. It is a high-efficiency water transfer system powered by solar paneling. We anticipate the cost to heat, cool and provide hot water for the home to be approximately $800 a year for this size home,” James said.
“The architectural designs and applications we are using have been used in Europe with great success for almost a decade,” he said. “It”™s time we embraced this technology. I truly believe it will be the standard for tomorrow.”
Barry realizes his potential asking price ”“ in the $1.25 million to $1.5 million range ”“ may be a leap of faith in an economically depressed housing market, but he believes “there are people who are looking for a unique, environmentally conscious home that is off the beaten track; a great weekend getaway for city dwellers with disposable income. There”™s virtually no maintenance indoors or out. There”™s no lawn to mow ”“ the five acres of property will remain in its natural state.”
Barry is testing the waters to see if this new millennium home will be desirable and marketable. “If it is, there will be many more to follow. If it”™s not, I”™m sure I”™ll be hearing plenty from my partners.”
Barry and River Architects are aiming for Silver LEED certification once the house is completed in mid-February.