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“The stunningly beautiful Hoefling House in Boulder should be the poster child for energy efficiency and green building in America.
The client’s design brief called for a clean, bold, and original modern design. They asked Rodwin Architecture for a very site-specific plan that would meet the highest levels of sustainability, while not compromising aesthetics or functionality. This home was a design/build project that Rodwin and sister company Skycastle Construction fulfilled completely, including full architectural, interior, and construction services.
Four key team members lead the project; their work and contributions are felt throughout: Scott Rodwin, AIA, LEED AP was the project’s Principal Architect. Brandon David, LEED AP, was the project’s head of construction. Because of his degree in architecture, David has an intricate understanding of the design as it comes to life – a helpful tool when engineers feel a change should be made to the plans. Jocelyn Parlapiano and Cecelia Daniels served as co-project managers and designers. They are both responsible for the design and details of the home, including the palette of materials and finishes.
The house has achieved LEED Platinum certification and a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) of 14 (scale of 0 to 150), making it a near Net-Zero Energy house. To meet the requirements of these two standards (and the wishes of the clients), Rodwin and Skycastle used a combination of passive solar design, a 10kWh solar PV array discretely tucked onto the roof, a ground source heat pump and boiler, radiant flooring with high thermal mass, foam insulation, Energy Star “tuned” windows, all LED lights, Energy Star appliances, EPA Watersense plumbing fixtures, and a Heat Recovery Ventilator. In addition, a LEED Manager/sustainability consultant was involved in the process along with the engineering consultants.
Rodwin Architecture has made it standard practice to design homes from the inside out. One of the influences in the home’s conceptual design was nature: the idea was to bring inside the southwestern views of the Flatirons, sky, and several towering specimen Ponderosa Pines on the property, along with plenty of natural light.
It started with Passive solar design; the home was oriented, turned slightly on the lot (Jocelyn Parlapiano’s idea), so the majority of glass is to the south. Sunlight is captured when it is wanted/needed (winter) and blocked by the unusually large “hat” roof when unwanted (summer). Natural wood flows from the raised ceiling inside to the soffits outside, and the added clerestory windows give the roof a floating effect as the surrounding views are fully captured by the inhabitants. This home is flooded with natural daylight and cross-ventilation in every room. Nature further drove the design with a strong indoor/outdoor functional flow, an orchard and raised gardens on the property, and the warm texture of the natural wood and board-formed concrete siding.
The home sits on a main street in Boulder and is highly visible. As mentioned above, it is slightly turned on the lot to not face the roadway head on. What looks like a large home from street, is in reality only 3,100 square feet, but laid out in a way that gives the home quite a presence. The exterior material palette includes board-form concrete, clear Douglas fir, and stucco for a distinctly Colorado contemporary feel. The immensely tall windows are immediately noticed, especially the two-story window that reflects the verticality of the stairwell inside, while also letting plenty of natural light into the space.
Another interesting external feature is found on the home’s Eastern side: a window cut-out in the roof allows sun to shine down onto the live roof garden, located on a 2nd floor balcony. This effectively takes a piece of nature and allows it to exist within the footprint of the home.
A white concrete porch welcomes visitors as they approach the home. A small outdoor cooking area is set up with built-in BBQ grill, integrated planters, and gas fire pit, all built of board-formed concrete, plus dining table. A raised-bed veggie garden and fruit tree orchard are just off to the side of the patio.
Pavers lead to the transparent front door, which is covered by the cantilevered deck above. Inside, guests step onto radiant heated Travertine tiles that run throughout the first floor. One of the interior design themes is the merging of a very crisp modern style with natural organic elements. The clients wanted the house to have a warm modernism feel by bringing the texture of nature into the home, through materials and expanded views. This is noticed throughout, starting with the Travertine tiles; the organic texture of the rougher edges gives the floor an old-world feel, but to keep things aesthetically modern, the imperfectly shaped tiles are perfectly placed in the floor.
An antique bureau greets visitors, giving the first glimpse of a few older pieces that have been placed in this new, modern home. The garage entrance/mudroom, small powder room, and staircase are all ahead, connected to the small entrance. The main living space is seen immediately to the left.Read the entire article here