Tumalo House
Location: Tumalo, Oregon
Completion Date: Fall 2008

This building is designed to enunciate the varying experiences provided by the site and distant landscape while also making an absolute minimal impact on the environment. 
The program is stacked in section to exagerate the experience of ascension from the small, introverted scale of the tree trunks to the larger, expansive scale of the horizon line and finishing above the tree tops, exposing the enormity of the surrounding forest.  The more private bedroom pieces of program are organized on the ground floor below the tree canopies.  The second floor is entirely devoted to one unobstructed living space that floats at the horizon within the tree tops.  The third floor library appears to float as its mass cantilevers to the south views and the reading area bridges the kitchen below.
Careful site placement allowed maximum solar exposure for both passive and active solar strategies. The building is long and narrow, with the long sides toward the north and south, in order to maximize daylight in the space and aid in cross-ventilation with prevailing southern winds.  The home features an 8.0kWh photovoltaic system that produces more electricity than the house will consume over a given year.  The house will be a net producer of energy, selling power back to the electric company.  High efficiency evacuated tube solar water heating collectors are used to reduce the energy consumption of the homes radiant floor heating costs by 80%, as well as a separate system to heat the swimming pool.  Rain water will be collected in a 180cu.ft. cistern to be used for site irrigation.