Sunlight Homes Design Office |
Every Sunlight home is custom designed to fit the lifestyle of the individual people who will live there.
Sunlight homes are wonderfully comfortable and extremely energy efficient year round because they are designed for their specific climate and built to be strong, tight and super insulated. In cool weather, natural daylight warms and brightens every room through numerous triple-pane windows. The winter sun, low in the sky, warms our homes naturally... when warmth is welcome! In the summer, covered porches shade our homes from the heat and roof overhangs, sized for the climate, keep out unwanted summer sun. Year-round in all climates, natural daylighting is abundant, but not excessive.
We have developed and refined our design process for over 35 years and have come up with a system for designing custom green homes that works very well. It begins with a visit to your building site so that we can see, first-hand, where your new home will be built. Over a two-day period we work closely with you to develop an overall plan for your project, using your own goals to guide us. Each of our clients complete worksheets beforehand that tell us what they want and need in their new home, along with information on what drives them... their values and goals. We review and discuss these worksheets at the beginning of the Site Visit, clarifying and adding details until we are very clear on what's important and what isn't.
During the Site Visit we will decide roughly where the home will sit on the site and what size it will be. We'll begin discussing the general orientation of the rooms to the sun, the views and to each other. Outdoor spaces are considered too, and all this is in direct relation to your own lifestyle, interests and goals. Since your budget drives everything, prioritizing is also part of the Site Visit!
By the time the Site Visit is over, an overall plan of approach will be decided upon.
Afterwards, back in our office, we begin to develop your plan in small stages, sending it to you frequently for input. Our design process is a close collaboration, as we continue to identify your most important wishes and goals to create a plan that works for you and your budget.
The design process usually takes two to four months and is a very exciting time!
Jon Davis with clients |
There are many ways to design an energy efficient home. For some people, a completely self-sustaining, zero-energy home is the goal. Others might have competing priorities like a building site that is compromised with limited southern exposure, a north-facing view, or a rainy or extreme climate. They might have a tight budget or want to owner build their home. Every Sunlight project is unique and decisions are made accordingly. We support any attempt to build a more sustainable home and we help each client find the best approach and the right balance for their particular situation.
We were fortunate to learn about the work of architect Christopher Alexander early in our career. Alexander and his group studied architecture in Europe with the goal of identifying the design elements in European architecture that make their homes and communities feel comfortable and inviting. His work was ground breaking and we are among many who are grateful to him for his contribution to residential architecture. We have designed our homes with his principals in mind ever since.
Today our home designs benefit from years of direct experience. The design strategies we use to make our homes energy efficient and sustainable are virtually invisible, allowing the home's own architectural style to shine through. We will continue to evolve and incorporate new technologies as they become proven and worthy of consideration.
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