The Wareloft
“Houston’s Cost Efficient Green Home”
Featured by the Houston Mayor’s & Houston’s Green Building Resource Center special tour, Houston AIA’s Gulf Coast Green Symposium tour, National Solar Tour/HREG tours, USGBC-Texas Gulf Coast Chapter tour and many other tours.
Houston Texas
The Wareloft resulted from a couple’s desires for an environmentally sensitive home wedded to property they wanted to keep as natural as possible. It had to have interior spaces that are laid back, wide open, adaptable and accommodating for various activities and gatherings. It must provide ample room, have a weaving studio and a study and have gallery-like spaces for the owners’ created art. Using very little energy and having comfortable interior spaces and breezes inside even without power were part of their expectations, as was having a home that had the versatility and aesthetic appeal that loft and warehouse spaces have for them. Another benefit: it was built at a cost anyone who can afford a custom home can afford to build.
The purposely designed result suits the owners’ objective so well that the first expression uttered from new visitors is almost always “Wow!” (about 70% of the time) according to the owners. Weathering Hurricane Ike without damage, it provided comfortable living until power was restored weeks later. Without any PV solar assist, their total energy bill averaged $108/mo (for 2010, the hottest Houston year so far on record) and their highest electric bill, $137, was for the hottest 30 days ever for Houston (June 15 to July 15, 2009). This proved that EA’s signature eaDesign for Life™ (includes design for Passive Sustainability & Resilience) works very well indeed, despite this 3148 sf home having an interior volume equivalent to a 5800 sf home with 9 ft ceilings. This Certified LEED Silver rated home is on property that is also now a Certified Wildlife Sanctuary by the NWF.
Houston House & Home Magazine – A Loft in The Woods
