Passive Home Design

Hi everyone,

I've been quiet for a while, but I've been very, very busy.  I've been working with Brian Waite (http://www.strawbalehouse.co.uk/) to bring his arched home design to North America.

I'm very curious to know what the community thinks about Brian's design and our website: https://CruxHomes.com

Please feel free to be critical.  There are lots of good options available... Earthships, Wofati, earthbag, etc, but none of them have caught on as much as they should have.  I feel that Brian's design has the potential to go mainstream.  So the more constructive criticism I get, the better I can make my content, the more potential I have to make a positive ecological impact.

I'm very happy to answer any questions.  Here's a simple slideshow to get you started:

For me, I like the organic shape of the arched barn like buildings depicted upon the front of this video, BUT I would never buy one or build one because it lacks side windows. This is one of the principals that Mike...the $50 underground house guy...says is a prerequisite for comfortable living; a light source from two different directions in living spaces. I never realized it until he stated it, but it is true, with only one light source, a home just does not feel "right", though a person really does not know why.

Hi Travis,

I agree with you about the side windows . . . but if you check out https://CruxHomes.com, you'll see that you can definitely have windows on the sides.  This is Brian's home (the author of the design):



The folks that built the house in the video chose not to have side windows (probably to save some money) but maybe because they didn't feel their home needed it.  Check out these images . . .

Here's the the first gable end with lots of windows:



Here's the other gable end:



And this is what it looks like inside:





I would personally still want some windows on the side, but it's an individual decision.  Please let me know if you have any other questions about CruxHomes   :-)

Cheers,
CJ

Oh, okay...nice to know that it can be added. I would have to have that, or at least two wing additions to allow in light. The wing additions look like matching the rooflines would be a bear though.

I like the arched shape of the roof for what it is worth. First off I live on a ridge at 700 feet above sea level which sounds low, but being only a few minutes from the coast, it is actually pretty high and labeled as a High Wind Zone for wind generation in Maine. From the top of the hill I get 150 mile views. Of course with those views come wind, last fall hitting 92 mph here! Having a home resistant to wind is everything! We wanted to go underground in a WOFATI, but I cannot because the soil is too thin. (On top of the hill, only 4 inches to bedrock). I assume these can be set on concrete slab foundations? Obviously I could not really do any other foundation due to the bedrock issue.

Naturally we love the views from here, but dislike the house being buffeted from the wind. It alo creeks so loud that it wakes you up at night.

Note to moderators: I had a tough job finding this thread, would it be possible to morph this conversation with the other Crux Home thread going on?