Going Asian in Kenilworth: Japanese design and energy efficiency mark this architect home.What would an architect design for himself? Jonathan Lucas designed and managed the building of his family's Asian-influenced house in the historic Kenilworth area of Asheville, NC. What did he stress in the design? Modern interpretation of historic elements, Asian design, and natural and green elements: "It's a home designed and built to be aesthetically delightful, to use and express natural materials, to be highly efficient, and to enhance our way of life," says Lucas. One of the unique design elements of the house is the compact pinwheel floors plan. It has "wings" that are offset and extend at ninety-degree angles from a "huh huh interj. Used to express interrogation, surprise, contempt, or indifference. huh interj an exclamation of derision, bewilderment, or inquiry ." The middle area of the house is the "hub" and contains the dining room and meditation room, on the lower and upper floor plan respectively. The "wings" contain the bedrooms, living room and office. This design element is both attractive and practical. "I used compact, vertically open thermal massing Thermal mass, in the most general sense, is any mass that absorbs and holds heat. In the architectural sense, it is any mass that absorbs and stores heat during sunny periods when the heat is not desirable in the living space of a building, and then releases the heat during and interior windows in the second floor bedroom lofts," Lucas says. "When the woodstove is in use, this design brings a gentle heating air flow through "all of the living spaces." The design also lends itself to natural cooling, so no air conditioning air conditioning, mechanical process for controlling the humidity, temperature, cleanliness, and circulation of air in buildings and rooms. Indoor air is conditioned and regulated to maintain the temperature-humidity ratio that is most comfortable and healthful. system was needed. [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] The incorporation of salvaged design elements adds to the drama and nostalgia of the building. Salvaged items include four-poster bed columns used to frame the opening between the living and dining rooms and structured into the master bedroom bed, the curved glass for the kitchen bay window, window sashes, and a salvaged claw-foot bathtub in the master bath. Natural materials from the home site were used as well: the plaster wall finish is pigmented pigmented /pig·ment·ed/ (pig-ment´id) colored by deposit of pigment. pig·ment·ed adj. Colored as the result of a deposit of pigment. with sifted clay from the site. and wood posts and timbers were milled from local and on-site wood. Lucas' wife, Shannon. spent two years living in Japan; she brought to the house its Asian-inspired elements. The second floor hosts a "four and a half mat room," a meditation room with tatami ta·ta·mi n. pl. tatami or ta·ta·mis Straw matting used as a floor covering especially in a Japanese house. [Japanese.] mats. An engawa, or narrow porch, overlooks the small courtyard, they enter the house through the genkan entry foyer, and the family bathes in a traditional outdoor Japanese .soaking tub. The bamboo floors Bamboo floors are manufactured from the bamboo plant. The majority of today's bamboo flooring products originate in China and other portions of Asia. The species of bamboo used for flooring is commonly known as "Moso". throughout the house enhance the Japanese design and utilize a sustainable, quickly renewable material. The 108-gallon tub saves on water and heating compared to running normal baths. "I designed and installed the heating and circulation system, which uses a flat-plate heat exchanger heat exchanger Any of several devices that transfer heat from a hot to a cold fluid. In many engineering applications, one fluid needs to be heated and another cooled, a requirement economically accomplished by a heat exchanger. connected to a zoned hot water loop from the boiler, controlled with an aquastat and timer timer, n radiographic timing device that functions as an automatic exposure timer and a switch to control the current to the high-tension transformer and filament transformer. The face of the timer is calibrated in seconds and fractions of seconds. ," says Lucas. "We use the soaking tub every evening! It is hard to imagine what life was like without it.'" Jonathan Lucas worked to make sure that each family member had a say in how the house was built: "During design, my kids requested secret spaces hidden behind their closets in their rooms. I could not fred the space for these, but each of the children's bedrooms has a loft that is accessible by ladder." His son loves his loft, where he sets up and rearranges his electronic equipment and other gear. With a space for everyone, this Kenilworth home satisfies top green points and the desires of its inhabitants
The game is based loosely on the concepts from SameGame. . making for a truly happy and healthy home. SPECIFICATIONS Location urban, historic Kenilworth in Asheville, NC Designer What on Earth Architecture (Jonathan Lucas) Builder Jonathan Lucas Size 3,040 square feet plus garage and studio apartment Price tag just under $130/square foot; $297,960 total Completed 2006 Construction type concrete block basement wails With wood frame construction Top Green Points Efficiency R-19 wall insulation; Energy Star[R] appliances; low-e windows; wood and high-efficiency gas boiler heat; efficient heat-flow house design Low Toxicity borate borate /bo·rate/ (bor´at) a salt of boric acid. bo·rate n. A salt or ester of boric acid. borate any salt of boric acid. termite termite or white ant, common name for a soft-bodied social insect of the order Isoptera. Termites are easily distinguished from ants by comparison of the base of the abdomen, which is broadly joined to the thorax in termites; in ants, there is treatment; minimal use of paints and varnishes; formaldehyde-free insulation Environmental native and edible plant landscaping |
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