Sycamore House

HASTINGS Architecture, LLC

Designed for a family of four and situated on an in-town neighborhood lot, this home is an exercise in the curation of prospect, connection, and retreat. Sycamore House’s simple, geometric forms, rotated around a central courtyard with an east/west axis, allow spaces to open to the exterior and connect the separate sides of the home visually. The restrained, modern exterior material palette responds to the vernacular and the natural limestone bluffs and their fissures and layering that are found throughout the region in a manner that evokes honesty in the relationship of architecture and site.

Interlocking volumes respond to programmatic necessities of the house. The central volume wraps the main living and entry areas. It is predominantly glass and opens to both the front and the courtyard, drawing nature through the space. Landing this volume on an elevated and elongated porch both grounds the volume and provides an elevated prospect over the public realm. The flanking volumes—kitchen and dining contained in the lower volume, and bedrooms, studies, and library in the taller volume—are interlocked and layered in manner that filter light, navigate grade, and respond to solar orientation.
The overall composition and solution—while drawing inspiration from both Scandinavian and Japanese design elements and ethos for the manner in which they influence healthy, natural design—seeks to create an inspiring living environment that is connected to nature and site and activates and energizes everyday living within.

Sustainable design is integral to the design philosophy applied in this project, and the AIA COTE Top Ten Measures have been followed in the process of design. The home seeks to highly-reduce energy consumption and environmental impact. The orientation manages solar heat gain, and a long-span pergola at the front porch shades the west-facing glass. Low-e glazing, a highly insulated envelope utilizing foam insulation, 6” exterior studs, white TPO roof material, shading devices, motorized shades and 100% LED lighting further enhance the home’s performance. A 7 kW solar photovoltaic array (with expansion capabilities) resides on the high-roof and helps power the geothermal HVAC system which utilizes nine (9) 300’ deep wells in the NW corner of the site. Rainwater is harvested from 100% of all roof areas and is captured in a below-grade cistern, along with ground water, cistern for non-potable irrigation.