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A Sustainable Home in Sonoma by Cooper Joseph Studio Posted: 09 Aug 2011 01:04 AM PDT A sustainable home was designed for a couple of scientists, by Cooper Joseph Studio. It was built in Dry Creek Valley,  Sonoma, where they can have several agricultural projects, such as olives, olive oil, beekeeping, honey and extensive gardening, regarding their interest on  "locavore" movement. It used to be a  a dilapidated house, and they re-built it, and facilitated it by several sustainable features. The site is known for its extreme weather, and has experiences on droughts, floods, mudslides, scorching temperatures and even frosts. The eco construction takes place on a steep hillside, at the top of an olive orchard, facing to the north to take the advantages of the breezes, and shade from existing forests to the south. With this position, the inhabitants can see beautiful view and do a lot of outdoor activities, as there is an open area available also, located in shaded area. The access to the outdoor view is always provided in every part of the house, while the fenestration protects the interior from over sun heating. The eco friendly building has 3 level, with the entrance and the bedroom in the top level, kitchen in the middle and a large living room on the bottom. With the condition of the climate of the area stated above, the house was designed considering this matter. It should provide comfort in every condition. It should be energy efficient also. Natural lighting becomes a good consideration, besides the way on reducing the solar heat gain. Natural materials are also used. Grey color is dominated the exterior and interior, some are from the nature color of the materials, such as soft grey limestone. For the energy source, the green home building is supported by a 930 sq ft solar field located on a nearby hillside. This system can provide 21,578 kWh/year. The field of the solar system acts as a shade canopy an agricultural work shed located underneath it, as the field is elevated 10 ft off the ground. Xeriscape planting technique is used to reduce the water usage and preventing the soil erosion. After an initial period of stabilization, no irrigation will be required on the property except for the agricultural plantings. The hillside storm runoff is directed and filtered underground. Lavender is chosen to provide the food for the bees. ref 1 2

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