Approached from above and set on a nearly three acre hillside overlooking the town of Sonoma, this house breaks conventional notions of front yard and rear yard. Its large overhangs protect the west-facing views from the morning sun and provide outdoor shelter adjacent to the trellis and lap pool. Located just below a ridge line, the house's long, low, north-south orientation follows existing contours, does not interrupt nearby views, and also optimizes cross ventilation in all rooms. The folded roof maximizes the surface available for photo-voltaic and hot water solar collectors.

Currently under construction and scheduled for completion in Spring 2011, the house is designed to consume net-zero energy. Heat is provided through a radiant floor slab and heat pump powered by a roof mounted solar array. In lieu of conventional air conditioning, summer air is drawn through an insulated, naturally cool plenum below the house and exhausted through clerestory windows and vents near the roof. Every aspect of the design plays a simultaneous role in the function, aesthetics and liveabilty of the overall project. The house's relatively shallow depth in the north/south direction maximizes the eastward views towards the town of Sonoma and encourages cross-ventilation from the cool Pacific air that rolls in from the west in the afternoons and pours down the hill. 

The foundations are formed using ICFs (insulated concrete forms) and the exterior walls are constructed using SIPS (structural insulated panel system), which provide a tightly sealed and insulated shell as well as saving significant time and labor during framing. Although the house has an eastern exposure, overhangs were studied to optimize summer shading and the exposed polished concrete slab over a metal pan deck system provides even thermal mass throughout the house to modulate temperature swings. The exterior doors and windows are thermally-broken aluminum with tinted dual glazing. Other key features include a 20,000 gallon rainwater harvesting system and semi-permeable driveway paving to minimize surface water run-off.

BIM software (ArchiCAD) was critical to each step of the project's success from site analysis to understand view lines and topography, to 3D visualization for the client and the Planning Department, to shadow and ventilation studies, to preparing and then verifying the SIPS shop drawings. Even as the project has progressed on the ground, the Building Information Model has been updated through all of the design changes and remained "alive" on the project’s dedicated project web site that is hosted by the architect.