HOUSE ON ASH

The site for the House on Ash is a 9-acre parcel at the edge of a natural preserve, amidst ponderosa pine trees and removed from the city or suburbs but only a 10-minute drive back into town. The roads are unpaved, and homes built in the area are not connected to water or sewer services.

Because of the limited infrastructure and a genuine desire from the owner and team to make this a showcase in sustainable living we set the goal of creating a net-zero-water home with the ability to add PV in the future and be off-the-grid entirely. The fact that the home was in an area where wildfires are a possibility meant the home had to be designed to be fire-resistive. Using metal cladding and heavy timber on the exterior we accomplished two things: (1) enabled the rain and snow-melt water harvesting we had targeted and (2) created a fire-resistive envelope.

The house is an exercise in structural rigor and discipline that sought to maximize each square foot of roofing – our water collector. A 12’ span was used to generate the framing grid. The slope was maintained at a low pitch to prompt snow to accumulate and be used as an insulator but also so that

it would melt slowly, the thermal break and an air gap helped between the roofing and the membrane was critical. All the typical roof penetrations were avoided and a 24” stud spacing was used to minimize thermal bridges on all exterior walls. Computer modeling was used to validate these assumptions

and to determine the optimal orientation for the house. The parti for the house is linear to allow greater solar radiation and daylight penetration throughout. Patios were used to extend the living spaces at

different times of the year. Views of the peaks were also carefully framed. A 20k gallon cistern is underground and stores all the water collected. Treatment for the water is done in stages and purified to a drinking level.