SABHOMES ISSUE 3 | Lucerne House
Renovated 50s home takes low-tech green approach
by James Paul
This developer-built bungalow – an ersatz version of the classic West Coast post and beam style house – dates from 1958. Typically a house of this age and in this condition would be torn down for redevelopment. Instead, the house has been renovated and extended, and now acknowledges its true heritage while retaining economy of the developer’s original construction materials and methods..
The renovated house is reconfigured with additions to provide two home offices and bedrooms for a family of five in ‘adult’ zones and ‘kid’ zones. Adult spaces with the two offices, a master bedroom, family room and principal living spaces form the upper floor, while the lower floor has three teenager’s bedrooms with an accompanying bathroom and recreation/sun room. South-facing outdoor living areas give a spacious feel.
The warmth of an exposed wood structure and ceiling offsets neutral coloured walls arranged for the display of art and to reflect natural light. High ceilings and open planning give a feeling of space and connection to the outdoors through large picture windows.
A dormer window over the kitchen and roof skylights are strategically placed to bring natural light into interior rooms. The entrance uses glass, Douglas fir and stone to make a link with the distant snow, trees and bedrock of the North Shore mountains.
From the living room the street and mountains are viewed through the entry curtain wall, and the kitchen clerestory windows offer more views to the mountains. 1×4 cedar siding custom coloured with eco-friendly stain to match the ‘raincoast’ sky colours. An illuminated metal stanchion playfully invites visitors to ‘ring’ at the entrance door.
Remodelling a house on a tight budget does not leave room for many certified green products, techniques or systems that have green ‘sex appeal’. Rather, a common sense approach followed a ‘green’ strategy of retaining or salvaging almost 80% of the original building materials. This saved on resource consumption and green house gases, and on waste sent to the municipal landfill.
An on-site construction recycling program helped reduce waste by managing some of the demolished wood framing materials, concrete and metal for recycling back into the house for framing, hardcore base and finish details. New framing materials are less expensive spruce and pine that have been left exposed and stained in substitution for more precious and scarce Douglas fir.
Reduced energy use is a primary objective of the project and the house surpasses Building Code requirements for energy conservation through increased envelope insulation, a high-efficiency gas furnace and water heater, Low E window glazing, large windows and skylights for natural illumination. The consumption of natural gas, the principal space heating and hot water energy source, is reduced by 49%.
In the interest of energy conservation 35% of artificial lighting needs are met using low energy CFL, fluorescent or LED; while the majority of the remaining lighting is controlled by dimmers or timers.
Orientation of the house takes maximum advantage of the south-facing aspect for passive solar heat collection in lower floor concrete slabs which act as heat sinks. Stack ventilation, which relies on the buoyancy of warm air, cools the house in summer and a heat recovery ventilator reduces heating costs while helping to improve indoor air quality. Accommodation has been made for the future installation of rooftop photovoltaic and solar hot water collection, and for an air-to-air heat pump to further conserve fossil fuels.
Natural stone, ceramic and wood finishing materials do not harbour dust, or off-gas volatile organic compounds [VOCs] that can also affect indoor air quality. Featured materials with ‘green credentials’ include fast-growing bamboo and fly-ash concrete.
Large roof overhangs offer protection from the sun and rain, and hidden eavestroughs permit 24% of the roof area to drain directly back into the water table via gravel drainage swales placed around the perimeter of the house.
Reduced maintenance, a component of sustainability, are projected through the use of durable materials including metal roof, natural stone, ceramic tile, and bamboo floors, superior siding, paint and stain materials and long-life lightbulbs. Life cycle planning of the house will permit future conversion of the lower floor to an efficient secondary suite if desired.
James Paul is the principal of James Paul Architect in North Vancouver.
