Comments on: The Maurer Residence by Allen+Maurer Architects

By: gordon

gordon — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 07:09:35 +0000

i think they may have drainage issues. on the upside.
nice house though.

By: Delve

Delve — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 02:03:17 +0000

you could have gone to the site and read up on what they had to say about the buildings environmental efficiency.

“Placement of buildings, roof overhangs, existing mature trees, performance of glazing product, thermal mass of concrete slab and tile flooring, all reduce heat gain in summer and made air conditioning unnecessary.”

By: Zissou

Zissou — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 22:01:13 +0000

I’ve been to this house and it’s spectacular. Beautifully sited, fantastic design, and well built – to it’s owner/designer’s exacting standards. It’s a house that is very well suited to the hot, dry summers with it’s massive sliding doors and master bedroom located in a satellite building … less suited to the cold Okanagan winters. I’d live there either way – a remarkable residence.

A side note based on the comment above: while BC is a Pacific province, the Okanagan Valley is by no means near the Pacific Ocean. Vancouver and Seattle’s climate is moderated by the Pacific whereas the Okanagan’s climate is characterized by hot, dry summers and cold winters.

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 22:29:42 +0000

Naramata is actually located in the near desert climate of the Okanagan Valley. Managing sun and desert heat will be as important to the design as any other consideration.

The Naramata region is famous for its hot sunny weather, wineries and fruit orchards and large sandy beaches. While it does snow, the winters are very mild by Canadian standards.

Visit http://www.okanagan.com/ for more information.

By: grey

grey — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 21:13:47 +0000

“the pacific coast has a mild climate” – this is true, but Naramata’s climate is semi-arid as it is an extension of the Sanora Desert that extends North from the United States. So yes it gets cold in the winter, but it also gets very hot in the summer. Regardless, an excellent example of hillside development in a region where flat areas are extensively used for agriculture (Naramata produces world class wines) and are under increasing development pressure. Well, that was until the economy bottomed. Ooops.

By: UrbanDesign

UrbanDesign — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 17:11:30 +0000

Well, I mean in the 3rd picture from the bottom there is clearly snow on the ground and roof, so obviously it gets cold enough to require some sort of heat, and with those wood frames and huge panes of glass, I would be interested in hearing what kind of solutions they came up with to make this home energy efficient. Anywyas, I like the simplicity of the forms and details.

By: Sara

Sara — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 23:59:01 +0000

The Pacific coast has a mild climate.
Does Seattle need heated tiles? I doubt it… A few hundred kilometers north of Washington DOES actually have a similar climate to Washington itself. Believe it or not.

By: Mycroft

Mycroft — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 15:40:22 +0000

Nice. I just hope those tiles are heated. This is Canada, eh?