Acorn Acres is a home inspired by the local butterflies. Mimicking their form with an angled roof to capture sun and rain, she provides power, water, and cool respite in the spaces below. Placed to catch the prevalent breezes and light, the home fits beautifully into the surrounding farmland.
Create an indoor/outdoor space where family, friends, and community can come together to play, celebrate, and recharge. Incorporate the into the surrounding farmland through building siting and materials. Limit environmental impact and build a path to living off-grid.
Limitation of home size to what was actually needed. Angled roof to capture solar energy and rain for passive conservation of power and water (cisterns that support fish and a family garden, bioretention swells to filter overflow back into the earth, onsite well pump, conserving plumbing fixtures). Placement of the structure on the site to capture predominant breezes (tall ceilings, open floor plan). Sustainable landscaping (removal of invasive species; installation of drought-resistant plants around the home; family garden with dye plants, teas, pollinator flowers, and veggies)
What were the key challenges?
1) Provide enough indoor and outdoor space to feel open while allowing for areas of solitude for the family. 2) Harmonize with the appearance of surrounding farms. 3) Beautify the underside of the large overhangs. 4) Design an adaptable kitchen that's seamless to the cooking process.
What were the solutions?
1) Use open floorplans, tall ceilings, family rooms on each floor, and a large terrace to create the feeling of more space. 2) Use white clapboard siding, rough sawn wood, and dark metal roofing to attune to look the look of a farmhouse. 3) Use gray insect screening and battens to camouflage the framing. 4) Arrange the spaces to be elbow to elbow without overlap, install two sinks, create reachable storage and a large pantry.
Team:
Calico Studio: Architecture Studio
Heather Washburn: Architect
Ballard Construction Inc: Contractor
9 Studio Productions: Videographer
Keith Isaacs: Photographer
Materials Used:
Reclaimed cedar for terrace ceiling, reclaimed heartwood pine for flooring throughout the house and kitchen shelves and cabinetry, blackened steel for interior stair (blackening done by Calico), Calico-designed custom cabinet pulls, white hardiplank siding applied vertically, metal roofing.
