Green Building Techniques Save Home on Mountain Drive

[tabatha]

“When we moved to Santa Barbara and built our new home, we were very conscious that Southern California was fire-prone. It turned out that many of the fire-resistant features recommended by our architect and the fire department — a standing seam metal roof, stucco walls, metal clad eaves — fit into our design aesthetic as well as our green building goals.”

“In designing our home, we listened to advice from our architect, our contractor, and the Santa Barbara Fire Department. The decisions we made felt like common sense,” David said. “We often get temperatures close to 100 degrees during the summer here on Mountain Drive. Why wouldn’t we want our home to be built with well-insulated walls and high performance windows? We did not know that these features were the key to the survival of our house last week.”

“After the fire, we checked our programmable thermostat when we returned to the house and found that during the fire, the temperature inside the house never rose above 84 degrees,” David explained. The Berrys’ home was also equipped with a fire sprinkling system that would have activated when the interior temperature reached 140 degrees, but it never did.


http://www.independent.com/news/2008/nov/21/green-building-techniques-save-home-mountain-drive/

[eleny]

1. It may look like a bunker but it's standing and what a view

One of the photos in the article opens up so big it could be a desktop pic. It shows the gorgeous view. The house design does seem to fit the landscape. All in all I really like it.

[tabatha]

2. Yes, they seem to have solved the eaves problem.

[hootinholler]

3. kickin it. n/t

[awoke_in_2003]

4. I would think

adobe would make a good building material, too. Mud doesn't burn, and the insulation factor is good.

[surrealAmerican]

5. Aren't the climate, and local hazards like fire, something a ...

good architect would ordinarily plan for?

[tabatha]

6. Yes, you would think so - but most have not.