Nathan Good Vineyard Home: Site Design and Preparation

With any homesite you have various considerations when deciding the location and orientation of the home. When you have 60 acres of vineyard at the homesite the challenges get even greater. The home is nestled directly into the corner of the existing vineyard.

A geotechnical report was created to help guide the development of the site. This report helps the us the builder as well as landscape architects develop appropriately on the site. It covers topics such as, types and quality of soils, drainage, and elevation changes. The report then goes on to give recommendations on how to prepare foundations, retaining walls and how to control water on the site.

First completed is the boulder retaining wall. Instead of lining up rows of boulders to create a true wall, Landscape Designer Clark Matschek & Associates created a naturalized boulder wall. The 400 tons of rock were brought in from a local quarry. Each boulder was strategically placed to allow paths and several mini gardens. When the build is complete the pockets between the rocks will be filled with local drought tolerant plants. These plantings will not need watering once established. Larger beds have also been created to be the homeowners vegetable vegetable and herb gardens. It also serves to hide the homes propane tank and other utilities.

Once the wall had been established the homesite could be dug out. Great care needed to be taken to avoid damage to the existing vineyard just feet away from the homesite. In addition the soil that the home sits on has already been prepared for the grapes. The soil had been ripped to help the roots travel deep into the soil. For a foundation this would provide weak points. It was necessary to dig below these rips. In some areas the foundation was dug out an extra 4 feet in order to get down to undisturbed soil. In all, over 40 loads of soil were removed and re-purposed around the property. And most importantly no grapes were harmed in the process.

LEED points are to be awarded in both these portions of the build. The retaining wall will acquire points for it’s method of managing surface water and the use of native plants. Since the wall is made to look like a natural barrier innovation credits will also be given. The foundation dig out meets several point criteria in minimizing the disturbance to adjacent plants and soils.

Winsome Talks to Featured Architect- Andre DeBar

Starting in Minnesota and making his way through the University of Virginia and Yale, Andre DeBar took a circuitous route to the Pacific Northwest, but we sure are glad that he found us!  An acclaimed architect focusing on sustainable design and construction, Andre is passionate about practical, attainable solutions to solve building inefficiencies and simplicity of expression of materials that create efficient building systems.  In his mission statement, Andre states, “We take pride in crafting buildings that are high-performance yet simple, reflect and respect their place, and will serve their inhabitants well for many generations.”

Winsome is fortunate to have the opportunity to work with Andre on one of our upcoming build projects currently in design.  We sat down to interview Andre as this month's featured architect and enjoyed talking with Andre about his passion, advice and experience with green building.  

Since his experience with Earth Ships in Taos as a young architect right out of college, Andre has had a passion for designing homes and structures that "enhance our relationship with the environment while reducing our impact upon the ecosystem".  The obstacles to do this are not as great as some people think, Andre assures.  "It is not that expensive to get a big bump in performance, " he says.  The key to this, according to Andre, is focusing first on your systems and your shell that is not easily changed in the future. Good windows, well insulated walls, orientation and size are some good places to start.  You can design homes and structures to be flexible to change with changing needs and improved technologies in the future.  By not having interior bearing walls, for example, the walls can be more easily moved to adjust the use of the interior space in the future.  Even the mechanical systems, heating and cooling, can evolve in the future of a building.   "Designing our buildings to allow aging in place, " Andre says, "is an important part of the longevity of our buildings."  

Just this month Andre accepted a position as Earth Advantage's new Senior Green Building Consultant.  Not only will he be a liasion for Earth Advantage builders to help them to maneuver through the process of accreditation, but he will also be working on an innovative new program for accreditation of existing homes.  To date nobody has successfully launched a successful program for accreditation of existing homes.  Andre is particularly excited about this part of his job because of the potential impact it could have.  "If you can get every home to get 10 or 20 % greener you will have a far bigger impact on the environment, " he explains.  While working with existing homes can get pretty complex, they are trying to keep it simple.  They will have some pilot projects rolling out this spring.  Andre will still do design work even with this new position with Earth Advantage.  He is hoping to be able to do innovative, industry leading projects that can act as a model for change.

To view the full interview with Andre Debar, visit the Winsome Construction website at http://www.winsomeconstruction.com/building-with-us/design-services/andre-debar/.