Eco Houses

The Mines Road House is located in a picturesque place in Livermore, California. It was recently renovated by MacCracken Architects from the 1950 traditional ranch in modern comfortable residence. The house offers beautiful views of the countryside with lots of oak trees and rolling hills. Exterior is clad in wood. Inside you’ll also find plenty of wooden furniture that creates warmth and coziness. In addition the residence is equipped with modern technical solutions. The owners have the ability to generate substantial on-site power during the summer months due to low-flow fixtures, high efficiency Lighting, HVAC, irrigation systems and solar panels. The Mines Road House remained true to tradition through the use of natural materials, but became more open at the same time.

This is a previous project by Herron Horton Architects that they’ve done before the Carlton Residence that we have already reviewed. The owner of this house, George Fisher, calls it the Birds Sanctuary for the amazing fauna at that location, including hawks, cardinals and woodpeckers. And the neighbors are a family of groundhogs. To keep the nature of this site intact, the house was built using only green materials: non-toxic paint, bamboo flooring and energy star appliances. The interior echoes with outside’s brown metal panels and that seems to be an advantage. Brown and white walls help to create a very cozy and calm atmosphere.

This eco-friendly Bahia House located in Salvador and was designed by Studio MK27. The basic idea of this project is to keep cool in the hot Brazilian climate. For this purpose designers have used traditional techniques and materials, such as clay for the roof, wooden ceilings, sliding latticed wooden panels. The building is organized around a central patio to make natural ventilation in all the spaces possible and give beautiful view in a grassed garden. This idea of home is very unusual nowadays, because there is no modern technology in Bahia House. But the result is a contemporary house, where dwellers will feel comfortable despite the hot, shiny climate.