Pugh + Scarpa’s Dwell House II seeks to redefine the concept of a home into a flexible, multifunctional and adaptable space addressing the needs of today’s modern family, on a limited budget. For Lawrence Scarpa, lead designer on the project, Dwell House II’s modest budget and difficult lot symbiotically combined to create something entirely fresh and unexpected, a house that almost appears programmed by the site itself. Finding shelter and comfort through its access to the very environment that surrounds it, Dwell House II breaks the prescriptive mold of the traditional home by creating public and private “zones” in which private space is de-emphasized, in favor of large public living areas, with commanding views of the surrounding Topanga Canyon landscape. Because the heating and cooling systems in both “zones” can be divided according to their public/private function, more efficient systems can be used, leading to a house which sets a new standard for innovation in design and sustainability.
Dwell House II incorporates innovative and economical approaches in its construction technology, its heating and cooling systems, and its use of sustainable methodologies. The structure is constructed out of innovative, lightweight Structural Concrete Insulated Panels (SCIP) made by Green Sandwich Technologies—easily assembled and more cost-effective to use than traditional cast-in-place formed concrete or frame wall construction. Close consideration of the site and program lead to such passive solar design strategies as locating and orienting the building to control solar cooling and heat loads; shaping and orienting the building for exposure to prevailing winds; shaping the building to induce buoyancy for natural ventilation; and shaping and planning the interior to enhance daylight and natural air flow distribution. Other sustainable features include photovoltaic panels, solar radiant heating, geothermal heating and cooling, and a bioswale passing under the house itself.
Project Team
Pugh + Scarpa Architects (architect)
IBE Consulting Engineers (MEP and sustainability engineer)
