USA Houzz Tour: An Architect Designs a Passive Home for Family
An architect puts energy-efficient principles into practice in his weekend home in Long Island, New York
Becky Harris
28 September 2019
Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe as "collected."
I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia.
Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe... More
In exploring passive house technology, USA-based architect Wayne Turett of The Turett Collaborative went above and beyond, extensively researching this design and building approach for his clients. After studying the standards and systems for years, Turett decided to design a passive house for his own family, acting as general contractor and living in the home during construction so he could gain first-hand knowledge to impart to his clients.
His family’s new weekend home – on Long Island in the charming town of Greenport, New York in the USA – nods to local barn architecture with urban loft-like interiors. Thanks to its thoughtful siting, tight envelope and energy-efficient systems, the home uses 90 percent less energy than existing homes and 75 percent less energy than a new home built to code, he says.
His family’s new weekend home – on Long Island in the charming town of Greenport, New York in the USA – nods to local barn architecture with urban loft-like interiors. Thanks to its thoughtful siting, tight envelope and energy-efficient systems, the home uses 90 percent less energy than existing homes and 75 percent less energy than a new home built to code, he says.
Images by Liz Glasgow
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Architect Wayne Turett of The Turett Collaborative and his wife
Location: Long Island, USA
Size: 214 square metres with four bedrooms and three bathrooms
The lot was subdivided from a larger lot and is long and narrow. The lot’s shape, a desire for an open floor plan, and the local barns that dot the North Fork of Long Island inspired the home’s long and simple form. Turett orientated the house to capture views of Stirling Basin, where his family keeps a boat. This side of the house has south-eastern exposure, which helps keep it warm in the cold winters.
Exterior stairs (the staircase seen here was temporary) lead to the second floor, which houses the living room, dining room and kitchen. Turett turned typical floor plans upside down so these rooms would have the best views of the harbour and enjoy the cathedral ceiling provided by the gabled roofline. A long deck serves as an outdoor extension of these spaces, complete with exterior living and dining areas with water views.
Find a local architect on Houzz who specialises in passive house designs
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Architect Wayne Turett of The Turett Collaborative and his wife
Location: Long Island, USA
Size: 214 square metres with four bedrooms and three bathrooms
The lot was subdivided from a larger lot and is long and narrow. The lot’s shape, a desire for an open floor plan, and the local barns that dot the North Fork of Long Island inspired the home’s long and simple form. Turett orientated the house to capture views of Stirling Basin, where his family keeps a boat. This side of the house has south-eastern exposure, which helps keep it warm in the cold winters.
Exterior stairs (the staircase seen here was temporary) lead to the second floor, which houses the living room, dining room and kitchen. Turett turned typical floor plans upside down so these rooms would have the best views of the harbour and enjoy the cathedral ceiling provided by the gabled roofline. A long deck serves as an outdoor extension of these spaces, complete with exterior living and dining areas with water views.
Find a local architect on Houzz who specialises in passive house designs
From the driveway, the entrance sequence makes the most of the outdoor spaces. One can enter the home on this level through the garage door or the door off the deck, or walk across the deck to the exterior stairs and up to the second-story deck. The siding is a mix of grey fibre-cement panels and rough grey cedar shiplap siding, which suits the modern building yet fits in with other more traditional structures in the coastal town.
The driveway and landscaping are not yet finished – Turett plans to add a permeable driveway surface composed of chipped bluestone. A panel not dissimilar to a barn door slides across to reveal the garage, which has a charging station for electric cars. The site also minimises water run-off – rainwater flows into a trough drain that leads to a dry well.
The driveway and landscaping are not yet finished – Turett plans to add a permeable driveway surface composed of chipped bluestone. A panel not dissimilar to a barn door slides across to reveal the garage, which has a charging station for electric cars. The site also minimises water run-off – rainwater flows into a trough drain that leads to a dry well.
On the second-level deck, modern steel-cable railings keep the water views unobstructed. The eaves shade the interiors from the sun’s heat in the summer, while the wide expanse of sliding glass doors allows coastal cross-breezes to cool the home.
By combining the kitchen, dining and living areas in one large open space beneath the cathedral ceiling, Turett was able to keep the home’s footprint relatively small and create the urban loft-like vibe he was seeking. The light-coloured timber, the abundance of white, and the modern furniture give it a relaxed Scandinavian country-house feeling.
The timber floors in the house are heart pine with an oil stain that contains white pigment. “This stain lightened up the floors so that they are not reddish and they have a natural feeling,” says Turett.
Timber stain: Woca
The timber floors in the house are heart pine with an oil stain that contains white pigment. “This stain lightened up the floors so that they are not reddish and they have a natural feeling,” says Turett.
Timber stain: Woca
The appliances are energy-efficient. “We bought the kitchen right off the floor at Valcucine and reconfigured it a bit,” says Turett. “It’s kind of like an Erector set and has some unique features,” he says, referring to Meccano toy model building kits. For instance, this side of the island is faced in pegboard, and the white coverings on the upper cabinets around the window are a stretched fabric, which adds lightness and texture. “We can put those right in the wash, and we have a few extras, just in case,” he says.
The structure of the shelves, the conical stainless-steel range hood, and the perforated panels on the island create an industrial look that enhances the home’s urban-loft style. Eames bar stools add a classic mid-century modern element.
The structure of the shelves, the conical stainless-steel range hood, and the perforated panels on the island create an industrial look that enhances the home’s urban-loft style. Eames bar stools add a classic mid-century modern element.
In the dining area, the tilt-turn windows on the right work in concert with the sliding doors opposite them to make the most of the coastal breezes. Though the house has air conditioning, Turett says they have not had to use it yet. The home’s windows and doors, eaves and thick walls keep the house cool without it.
The kitchen table has a simple form and adds more light timber to the mix. Turett specified LED lighting throughout the house. The dining area’s light fixture echoes the structural metal tie rods that support the roof. He chose tie rods because they are less bulky than timber framing, and maintain the light and open feeling upstairs.
A corner window and skylights make the most of the natural light. “The skylights are more valuable in winter, when they let in the morning light, but they are small enough not to matter in the summer,” says Turett.
Even with all these openings, the house has an airtight envelope that keeps warm air from escaping during winter. This is a result of combining high-quality, well-sealed insulation, triple-paned glazing, and sheathing taped to form the air barrier – all key elements in a passive house.
The walls are 30 centimetres thick, and here’s where a passive house differs the most from a code-built house. Typical homes, from inside to out, will have plasterboard, stud walls with fibreglass insulation between the studs, then sheathing and exterior siding.
“My house starts out that way so, working from the inside out, it has Sheetrock plasterboard, fibreglass between studs, Zip sheathing taped at the seams to create an air barrier. Add rigid polyisocyanurate insulation [foam insulation panels], add 2.5 x 7.5-centimetre furring strips to the rigid insulation, and then add the finished siding,” says Turett. “When you cut into that you have to seal around the penetration, so with a window, the window has to be taped to the sheathing. When you have a pipe that goes from inside to out, you have to tape it to the sheathing.” The result is an airtight house – one that maintains temperatures and prevents drafts from entering the interior.
The house is heated and cooled with an electrical ducted mini-split system, aided by an energy-recovery ventilator (ERV). An ERV is important in an airtight building, as it exchanges fresh outdoor air for stale indoor air. The ERV can be boosted in areas that need it more, such as in the kitchen when cooking, or in the bathrooms to maintain healthy air quality.
Even with all these openings, the house has an airtight envelope that keeps warm air from escaping during winter. This is a result of combining high-quality, well-sealed insulation, triple-paned glazing, and sheathing taped to form the air barrier – all key elements in a passive house.
The walls are 30 centimetres thick, and here’s where a passive house differs the most from a code-built house. Typical homes, from inside to out, will have plasterboard, stud walls with fibreglass insulation between the studs, then sheathing and exterior siding.
“My house starts out that way so, working from the inside out, it has Sheetrock plasterboard, fibreglass between studs, Zip sheathing taped at the seams to create an air barrier. Add rigid polyisocyanurate insulation [foam insulation panels], add 2.5 x 7.5-centimetre furring strips to the rigid insulation, and then add the finished siding,” says Turett. “When you cut into that you have to seal around the penetration, so with a window, the window has to be taped to the sheathing. When you have a pipe that goes from inside to out, you have to tape it to the sheathing.” The result is an airtight house – one that maintains temperatures and prevents drafts from entering the interior.
The house is heated and cooled with an electrical ducted mini-split system, aided by an energy-recovery ventilator (ERV). An ERV is important in an airtight building, as it exchanges fresh outdoor air for stale indoor air. The ERV can be boosted in areas that need it more, such as in the kitchen when cooking, or in the bathrooms to maintain healthy air quality.
“We call this deck our summer living and dining room,” says Turett. The large doors create easy transitions from inside to out. Turett concealed storage behind the sofa by covering the doors in matching cedar shiplap and using hidden hardware. The family stashes cushions, a hose, sunscreen and other outdoor necessities in the cupboard.
Marine-style sconces add a modern nautical touch. There’s more outdoor living space on the decks below, as well as an outdoor shower.
The lower level in this upside-down floor plan contains the bedrooms.
Although the couple’s grown children enjoy visiting the home, Turett and his wife have the place to themselves some weekends. So he created this floor-to-ceiling door that allows them to open up their master suite when they are here alone.
“We can see right through to the window at the other end of the house when it’s open. And when it’s closed it looks like it’s the end of the house,” he says. Opening the oversize door gives them the urban-loft ambience that they like.
“We can see right through to the window at the other end of the house when it’s open. And when it’s closed it looks like it’s the end of the house,” he says. Opening the oversize door gives them the urban-loft ambience that they like.
The couple wanted to continue the open feeling into their master bathroom. The opening over the bathtub provides a view from the bedroom through to the master bathroom’s long mirror. A sliding barn door on the bedroom side can be closed for privacy. The shower is open to the rest of the bathroom.
A line of river stones creates an interesting transition between the shower floor and bathtub, and it also delineates the flooring change from heart pine to Stonetto, a non-slip, quartz-based composition with the appearance of stone. A door to the left of the shower opens to a deck. “This door gives the shower an indoor-outdoor feel,” says Turett.
A floating vanity and a long mirror with integrated LED lighting maintain a clean, minimalist look.
A floating vanity and a long mirror with integrated LED lighting maintain a clean, minimalist look.
The master bedroom also opens to an outdoor deck. Placing the bedrooms on the lower level allowed for this access.
When the project is completed, Turett will begin the process of passive-house certification, which confirms the house uses 90 percent less energy than existing homes and 75 percent less energy than a new code-built home. Because the couple only use the home on the weekends and their systems are so efficient, they have decided against photovoltaic solar panels for now. However, if they choose to install them in the future, Turett estimates the house would reach zero energy, meaning it would generate as much power as it uses over the course of a year.
Your turn
Which features of this energy-efficient home do you love? Tell us in the Comments below, like this story, save the images, and join the conversation.
More
Want another dose of design inspiration? Don’t miss this USA Houzz Tour: A Couple’s Plant-Happy Home Layered With Greenery
When the project is completed, Turett will begin the process of passive-house certification, which confirms the house uses 90 percent less energy than existing homes and 75 percent less energy than a new code-built home. Because the couple only use the home on the weekends and their systems are so efficient, they have decided against photovoltaic solar panels for now. However, if they choose to install them in the future, Turett estimates the house would reach zero energy, meaning it would generate as much power as it uses over the course of a year.
Your turn
Which features of this energy-efficient home do you love? Tell us in the Comments below, like this story, save the images, and join the conversation.
More
Want another dose of design inspiration? Don’t miss this USA Houzz Tour: A Couple’s Plant-Happy Home Layered With Greenery
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Solar panels are viable in higher latitudes (ie far north in northern hemisphere or far south in southern hemisphere) as he lack of sunshine in the winter is compensated for by the long daylight hours in the summer. I recently traveled in northern Scotland and was delighted to see many houses with solar panels. This was in latitudes of 55+ deg north! I'm contemplating adding some solar here - at 45deg south we do get looong light days in the summer.
Just so everyone knows, the Passivehouse standard is very different than the "passive solar" houses of the 70s and 80s which have been found to not work very well in most climate zones. Passivehouse involves ensuring not only a low amount of heating energy, but very healthy air and a comfortable house. This is accomplished through thick insulation with minimal thermal bridging, very high R value windows, super tight construction in terms of sealing all the air leaks (but allowing water vapor to permeate through the walls), and an active ventilation system to ensure fresh, filtered air. As homes get more efficient, all these things are need to keep them from having condensation and mold.
The house design makes me feel relaxed just looking at it. Could you share the make of the outdoor dining table that combined wood/teak and mesh. I love the fact that it looks comfy and most importantly- no cushions! TY!