Proposed residence

Our Beagle Brook journey began in the Summer of 2009 when we met our clients at their recently purchased property. Their three acre lot is rectangular and traversed by a small creek. There was an existing house and detached barn on the site. From the initial meeting it was clear that the owners wanted to build a new living structure but preserve the barn. They had the house cleared from the property salvaging as much useable material as possible to incorporate into the new house. Materials that could not be salvaged were recycled. Aspen Design worked closely with the clients to design a 2,300 square foot residence that emulates the gambrel roof lines of the existing barn. We positioned the home to face directly south and closer to the existing barn than the former house. Approximately 55% of all glazing is on the south façade which allows the house to receive as much sunlight and solar radiation as possible during the winter. A 3’ 6” lower roof overhang around the entire house serves to block the high sun during the summer months. We designed removable shade devices and awnings for the upper windows. The interior of the home has a loft-like open floor plan that allows the sun to penetrate the entire structure. A central concrete wall will receive full sunlight throughout the day and will function as a thermal mass along with the concrete floor throughout the first level. Beagle Brook will both receive and block solar radiation when needed. Its design will also allow it to store the radiation to use later.