Syncline - Arch11 Architects

Added : 10 May 2011 | Visits : 1872 | Average votes : %

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Built with innovative renewable energy systems and materials crafted to last centuries, the Syncline house by Colorado-based Arch11 architects is a model of cutting-edge sustainable design which attained a LEED gold certification.

Situated at the fold between the Rocky Mountain foothills and the Great Plains of Boulder, Colorado, the Syncline house embraces its position between nature and man through its sustainable green qualities. The geological definition of ‘syncline is a fold or crease in the landscape caused by the rise of an ancient sea bed over time. This explains the effort by the architects to strategize to have the home reflect is site which is a threshold between the city and the nearby mountain park area. Conceived as a frame of viewing the landscape, the architects meticulously modeled the residence within the site to insure that planes of glass capture ridge-top views while respecting the city’s height restrictions.

Built with innovative renewable energy systems and materials crafted to last centuries, the house is a model of cutting-edge sustainable design. Executed with uncompromising detail, surfaces meet with quiet precision creating a serene background for the landscape and mountains beyond. Roof gardens allow the land to literally envelope the house, and expansive, retracting glass walls provide full views of the Flatirons to the west while connecting interiors with outdoor rooms. Exterior facades show geometry and earth-toned materials like stone, wood and concrete that blend into the landscape. These materials are reflected in the interior with a simple design and modern furniture and appliances.

As the entry opens to the living spaces the apertures transform in scale to reveal the expansive landscape in its entirety. At the southwest corner thirty feet of glass retracts into the walls, dissolving the boundary between the domestic and the wild; the living spaces are then bounded only by the uplifted cliffs beyond. A simple stair cantilevers from the stone wall. Climbing the stairs, the foreground, mid range, and ridge views are sequentially revealed. Experientially scissoring into the landscape and back into the house the stairs connect the mountain park with the house. The west wall of glazing extends the western room boundaries to the wall of rock and meadows beyond. The east wall remains closed, allowing only privileged, controlled views and light from the clerestory above.

Despite its size and the fact it literally is half-glass — the LEED Gold certified new house has a smaller carbon footprint. Working within some of the strictest energy performance codes in the country, the house is designed to be self sustained utilizing a ground loop heat exchange system that taps into the very bedrock seen at the distant ridge. A ten kilovolt photo-voltaic electrical system powers pumps, compressors and the domestic electrical needs. Arch 11 achieved the savings with a 10-kilavolt solar system, ground loop heating and cooling, and a green roof, among other things. The Syncline House is a self-sustained closed loop house for heating and electricity.