When building my first home 14 years ago, I recall being shocked to see that the spruce I had ordered for wall studs had come from Austria and Slovakia. Local sourcing of wood is really important and not discussed frequently enough in the green-building industry. Photo courtesy of RS Motley Construction.įor all framing members, we used southern yellow pine that was grown and milled in North Carolina. The design used specific elevation data to design a home that steps up the lot from right to left, allowing for preservation of the rock outcroppings and mature oaks. Guests ascend a gentle slope of large stone slabs on their way to the front door, making for a pleasing journey. Six large cedar posts were mounted on top of two large boulders to carry the welcoming entry gable, creating the effect of the house coming right out of the rocks. To complement the existing rock outcroppings, additional boulders were carefully selected and brought in early in the project to create a natural-looking form to surround the patio. The open design of the public part of the house allows for light to enter from all four directions and minimizes the need for artificial lighting.Īnother unique feature of this home is the flagstone entry porch through which guests enter the house. “We paid attention to the light in terms of time of day and the seasons and then created pockets to dwell in throughout the day,” Kate said.įor Kate and Jeff, this means a sunny start to the day on the east end of the house where the meditation room and kitchen are located, and afternoon light at the end of the day in the raised sitting area and on the porch and deck.
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At the far left end of the main level, the elevation changes once more to a raised sitting area, screened porch and open deck.īy a stroke of good luck, the house was built on a direct east-west axis with full southern exposure at the front of the property, giving the public areas of the house a sun-tempered effect. There are two separate sealed and conditioned crawl spaces - one behind the garage and below the lower level, and another adjacent to the garage and below approximately half of the main level. From there, a flight of stairs takes them to the main level of the home.
Instead, Kate and Jeff will enter the home through a garage on the right and step up into a mudroom on the lower level, which also includes two bedrooms and a bathroom. What I found to be unique about his approach was that it didn’t include a traditional basement, which would have been my natural inclination as a starting point. In order to accomplish his design, Steve used specific elevation data to design a home that steps up the lot from right to left, allowing for preservation of the rock outcroppings and mature oaks. We were really interested in keeping the rocks exposed and hugging the house around them and up the slope.” “We knew it would have to be multi-level. “We saw the slope of the lot and we asked Steve to hug the land in his design,” Kate said. “Paying attention to the land from the start led to the uniqueness of the design,” Jeff said.įor the design work, Kate and Jeff engaged Steve Farrell of SSF Architecture and a concept was born. Photo courtesy of RS Motley Construction. Nestled into this were several prominent boulder outcroppings and two magnificent oaks. Rainwater was shedding off in multiple directions.
The primary topographic feature of Kate and Jeff’s property was a prominent spine sloping down from left to right and folding off to both the front and rear of the property. What we encountered at Kate and Jeff’s lot was a different variety of difficult: a property with compound slopes and angles. My previous experiences with difficult lots were limited to really steep sites and a few lots with poor soil conditions.
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When I first met Kate Zubko and Jeff Konz at their property on Elk Mountain Scenic Highway two summers ago for an initial site visit, I left the meeting with two distinct impressions: that Kate and Jeff seemed like really nice people and that I had no idea at all how to approach building a house on their tricky lot.īuilding on challenging lots is common practice in the mountains of Western North Carolina, and most builders who’ve been around for a while have cut their teeth on plenty of difficult sites. Slope Hope: Building A Green Home on a Unique Site
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