111 Contemporary Home Design Photos
Noel Cross+ArchitectsWho says green and sustainable design has to look like it? Designed to emulate the owner’s favorite country club, this fine estate home blends in with the natural surroundings of it’s hillside perch, and is so intoxicatingly beautiful, one hardly notices its numerous energy saving and green features.
Durable, natural and handsome materials such as stained cedar trim, natural stone veneer, and integral color plaster are combined with strong horizontal roof lines that emphasize the expansive nature of the site and capture the “bigness” of the view. Large expanses of glass punctuated with a natural rhythm of exposed beams and stone columns that frame the spectacular views of the Santa Clara Valley and the Los Gatos Hills.
A shady outdoor loggia and cozy outdoor fire pit create the perfect environment for relaxed Saturday afternoon barbecues and glitzy evening dinner parties alike. A glass “wall of wine” creates an elegant backdrop for the dining room table, the warm stained wood interior details make the home both comfortable and dramatic.
The project’s energy saving features include:
- a 5 kW roof mounted grid-tied PV solar array pays for most of the electrical needs, and sends power to the grid in summer 6 year payback!
- all native and drought-tolerant landscaping reduce irrigation needs
- passive solar design that reduces heat gain in summer and allows for passive heating in winter
- passive flow through ventilation provides natural night cooling, taking advantage of cooling summer breezes
- natural day-lighting decreases need for interior lighting
- fly ash concrete for all foundations
- dual glazed low e high performance windows and doors
Design Team:
Noel Cross+Architects - Architect
Christopher Yates Landscape Architecture
Joanie Wick – Interior Design
Vita Pehar - Lighting Design
Conrado Co. – General Contractor
Marion Brenner – Photography
Ana Williamson ArchitectWhile we appreciate your love for our work, and interest in our projects, we are unable to answer every question about details in our photos. Please send us a private message if you are interested in our architectural services on your next project.
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Stelle Lomont Rouhani ArchitectsHouse By The Pond
The overall design of the house was a direct response to an array of environmental regulations, site constraints, solar orientation and specific programmatic requirements.
The strategy was to locate a two story volume that contained all of the bedrooms and baths, running north/south, along the western side of the site. An open, lofty, single story pavilion, separated by an interstitial space comprised of two large glass pivot doors, was located parallel to the street. This lower scale street front pavilion was conceived as a breezeway. It connects the light and activity of the yard and pool area to the south with the view and wildlife of the pond to the north.
The exterior materials consist of anodized aluminum doors, windows and trim, cedar and cement board siding. They were selected for their low maintenance, modest cost, long-term durability, and sustainable nature. These materials were carefully detailed and installed to support these parameters. Overhangs and sunshades limit the need for summer air conditioning while allowing solar heat gain in the winter.
Specific zoning, an efficient geothermal heating and cooling system, highly energy efficient glazing and an advanced building insulation system resulted in a structure that exceeded the requirements of the energy star rating system.
Photo Credit: Matthew Carbone and Frank Oudeman
Princeton Architectural PressFalse Bay Writer's Cabin in San Juan Island, Washington by Olson Kundig Architects.
Photograph by Tim Bies.
111 Contemporary Home Design Photos
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