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THE WESTCOTT/LAHAR HOUSE: STRAW BALE AND SITE SPECIFICITY or DIAGRAMS & DIGRESSIONS
by Jeffrey L. Day, Architect, Minday Architects, Nebraska and California The Westcott/Lahar House is situated on a gentle, wooded slopes that rises above the Bolinas Lagoon, north of San Francisco. The project is noteworthy in the recent history of the straw bale revival not because it is technically innovative, but because of the judicious use of straw bale construction as a site-specific gesture. Straw bale walls are used in conjunction with conventional wood frame construction in an attempt to wed the house to the land with respect to views, existing trees, and solar/climate orientation. Straw bale walls, built with three-string rice straw bales from central California, cradle the living spaces on the north and west sides of the structure. The south and east sides are open to the thinly wooded site, forming a series of varied courtyards and allowing the sun to warm the interiors, which have concrete floors to provide significant thermal mass and permit efficient radiant heating. The courtyards or outdoor rooms extend the living area into the landscape and allow the landscape to enter the house. Thus, the permeability of the house to these areas greatly increases the useful area of the home without the expenditure of more resources. While the outdoor spaces are useful for much of the year in the mild local climate, they structure life in the house around changing seasonal and diurnal cycles. Most importantly, the house demonstrates the importance and the advantages of site-specific design: the modification of a standard house plan by the specifics of a particular location to create a dwelling place that is tied to the land. Jeff Day lives and works in Omaha, Nebraska, and San Francisco, California. He can be reached at 1110 Douglas Street, #301, Omaha 68102. Ph. 402.342.3798. E-mail: jeff@minday.com |