Ach/Behel Residence

Ach/Behel Residence

A residence for a couple for a 15 acre parcel of land in a grassland and juniper environment. The client's requested a design that was sensitive to the site and maximized the views of the mountains and the meadow to the south. A Feng Shui consultant was also part of the site investigation and design review process.

Alyssa McNair
Students design a house each semester which is required to explore both sustainability and aesthetics.

Vicki Anderson
Site explorations include surveying for solar access, vegetation and topography but also include an analysis of subtle energy flows with the guidance of a Feng Shui master.

Will Gabler
Concepts and ideas are presented to the client throughout the design process.

Christopher Corbett,
Emily Dow
Final designs vary in approach and materials such as using materials from the site to make adobe walls.

Eric Davenport
The use of solar access and shading is a major design determinate and formed many of the approaches.

Casey Crawmer
Innovative forms for designs are encouraged provided requirements for sustainability are met.

Casey Crawmer
Relationship to the topography, site damage and minimizing the ecological footprint of the project are mandatory.

Final designs are presented to the client by each student.

Aboriginal Living Skills School

Aboriginal Living Skills School

A design for a client who leads wilderness experiences and is intending to develop a school demonstrating minimum impact living. The client expected this project to have minimal environmental impact in all aspects of its design.

Site visits were made throughout the design process. Students camped at the site to become acclimatized to the environment.

A topographic model of the site was constructed to explore the natural water flows.

The design includes a courtyard for outdoor activities and a greenhouse for food production.

The building is totally heated by solar energy. Calculations confirmed year-round comfort levels.

An outdoor shower area uses harvested and stored water from the large roof expanse.

The construction uses rammed earth tires, a waste product, covered with adobe plaster.

The design team with the client.

Prescott College

Prescott College

A multi-use facility to house visiting scholars and conferences as well as an information commons and technical services. The client required the building to be a state-of-the-art sustainable building. Site selection and campus planning was also included.

Developing a conceptual plan for a future campus was required as part of the site selection for the project.

Conceptual plans and space analysis were developed based on a series of charettes held at the college.

Respect for the existing creek on the site and integrating it into the building is done through a series of sketch models.

The challenge of the site orientation is to design a solar building where the main access is North/South.

This required articulating the building elements to maximize the Southern exposure.

The use of roof gardens is a strategy used to mitigate run-off, temper the climate and minimize hardscape. The tensile roof is an environmentally sound strategy for reducing materials.

The center of the building is a commons and allows access through the building to the creek.

An auditorium and amphitheater creates an indoor/outdoor experience and flexibility for varying size audiences.

The design team created presentation materials including an audio/visual experience of the building for presentation to the client.

Embry Riddle Aeronautical University

Embry Riddle Aeronautical University

A plan for a children's museum focusing on sustainable energy. The client required that the building be designed to demonstrate the principles of sustainable energy use and be an example of ecological design.

Site Analysis includes solar access studies, biological inventory, water flow and other data required for restoration and selecting the optimal building site.

A complete site analysis is required to determine the environmental constraints that may impact the building form.

Conceptual ideas are developed for the form of the building.

Images of the impact of alternative materials and structures are created and analyzed for ecological impact.

Visioning of the sense of the spaces within the building are required as the forms develop.

The building form and site development continue together to blend both into a cohesive whole.

The final plans are a synthesis of early sustainable techniques and approaches with the clients program.

A detailed model is constructed for presentation to the client along with drawings.

This model demonstrates some of the ecological strategies for making this project climate sensitive.

Shading, natural cooling, high levels of natural light, wetland water treatment, photovoltaic energy generation and many other strategies are incorporated.

A tensile translucent roof gives high quality daylight. The solar prisms use sunlight to create a changing quality of light.

Sketches showing the interior spaces assist the client in understanding the concept.