COULEE HOUSE

The Coulee House is inspired by one of the most the unique topographical features of the Southern Alberta landscape. The Coulees snake their way from the mountains to the prairies serving as an oasis for wildlife all along the way. Over time the river at its base has carved out the earth to create a descent characterized by both steep banks and undulating slopes. As a result, the Coulee offers shelter and refreshment for all life that travels down to gather at the rivers edge. This downward journey inspired the homes earth bermed design. Similar to the descent into the Coulee, one must descend into the home which offers a central Gathering space at its base. The undulation of the Coulee slope offers the singular opportunity for an earth bermed home to have exposure on three sides. Oriented on the compass points, the design conceptualizes both in form and program the Coulees route through the diverse landscape as it meanders from the Mountains, through the Foothills to the Prairies. The eastern quadrant, characterized in form by minimal linear apertures emulates the Prairie plains. The spaces of the Prairie Quadrant are focused on Productivity. The southern quadrant of the home formalizes the ascent into the Foothills as the home begins to reveal itself from the earth. Programmatically the spaces in this quadrant are intended for social Engagement and activity. Finally the western quadrant of the home dramatically lifts itself out of the earth to give way to peaked forms emulating the Mountains from whence the Coulee’s path began. The rooms within the Mountain Quadrant provide spaces of privacy and Retreat.

Conceptually the Coulee House, in form and function manifests the evolution of the regional landscape. It begins with the descent into the Coulee, the heart of the landscape where the river runs and life gathers. From the depth of the Coulee the landscape rises up to the productive prairie plains. Eventually the golden fields give way to engage the rising slopes of the foothills. Finally these hills erupt to the snow capped peaks of the mountain retreat.

The Massing for the Coulee House begins with delving into the earth. Each successive step was an intentional design decision aimed at appropriately revealing the respective quadrants of the home in alignment with the homes concept.

The program of the Coulee House is oriented around the homes Coulee core. This large double height space is the Gathering space around which and through which the home functions. The defining feature of this space is the concentric sunken seating area which sits directly beneath the oculus above. Thereby even the center of this earth bermed home is flooded with natural light. The rest of the Coulee House program was designed as a ring on each level surrounding this central gathering space. These rings were then broken into four quadrants and oriented on the true compass needle. The quadrants function is an homage to the landscape features which mark the evolution of the topography that defines the Coulees’ path. The Prairie Quadrant is orientated eastward and reserved for spaces of Productivity, in keeping with the prairies agricultural use. These spaces include the Office, Gym and Kitchen. As the home transitions around the Coulee core from East to West the design allows more and more natural light into the home. This entails that the office is serviced by a light well and the kitchen and gym are filled with light from the eastern sunrise through limited horizontal apertures. As the home transitions into the southern Foothills Quadrant, the spaces are directed towards Engagement. This includes social engagement in the Dining and Living room, but also engagement with nature through the patio and pool. The southern facade allows for larger apertures and even direct contact with the natural landscape on the lower level. The Mountain Quadrant, oriented West, was conceived as a space of retreat. Consequently, it encompasses the homes bedrooms and en-suite. These rooms were provided with large apertures in order to allow the occupants to enjoy the western sunset. The northern quadrant of the home includes the homes auxiliary support spaces such as the garages and storage room. There is however the exception of the Theatre. Though conceptually it is to be considered a space of engagement, it was placed in the northern quadrant to ensure proper functionality with the absence of natural light.

The Coulee House was designed as on off grid home utilizing a number of active and passive sustainable initiatives. A series of solar panels sit atop the Coulee crest to ensure full exposure year round to the sun. The power from the solar panels will supply the homes electrical needs. Meanwhile the homes heating and cooling is provided by the vertical Geo-exchange earth tubes beneath the home. Furthermore the heating and cooling load is largely passively managed by the homes earth bermed design, window orientation and shading. The homes location within the earth and subsequent green roof ensure the home is well insulated and the temperature is somewhat moderated by the earth around it. Due to the circular mass of the home and the excavated apertures, light and heat gain is effectively regulated as the sun follows its natural path. Thus vertical shading is provided by the apertures on the east and west sides to mitigate excess heat gain. Southern shading is managed through horizontal shading elements which shade in summer and allow light and heat to enter when the sun is at the low azimuth of winter. This horizontal shading also mitigates excess heat gain to the large western windows as the regions long summer days can contribute to significant heat gain on west facades. High efficiency glazing also helps ensure heat gain is managed effectively. Finally the water supply is provided through a two part system. Storm water captured will be utilized to supplement greywater demand. The rest of the water required would be drawn from the electric well located at the Coulee base where the water table is highest.