With the ideal site identified, the task of designing the home was simplified. The floorplan grew naturally around the opportunities for passive design strategies and the needs of the homeowners who are seniors looking to age in place. The plan includes 1,900 square feet in a single story with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and an efficient layout that considers mobility impairment.
The home’s footprint is rectangular and oriented, so the long sides face north and south. The 100 Series windows are concentrated on these sides to avoid the intense solar radiation that comes from the west. All the windows are shaded by deep eaves and distributed on different sides of the home to bring reflected light from multiple directions along with cross breezes. Openings are concentrated in the gathering spaces but not overdone nor excessive. They are on the northern, eastern, and southern sides of the home where they bring light and views into the open-concept dining room, living room, kitchen, and the adjacent deck and screened-in porch.
The porch is positioned to catch the prevailing breezes from the Gulf of Mexico to the southeast. The deck is on the north side where it has views of the valley yet is well shaded by the roof, which is “Galvalume” low-heat-absorbing metal to reduce solar heat gain.
The bedrooms and bathrooms are on the western end of the house where exposure to the hot afternoon sun is minimized by having fewer windows. These spaces are reached by a corridor that’s wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair, if ever needed.
