Getting oriented.

Our plot of land is mostly flat, with a gentle slope down to the lake. The site looks north to the lake, with the lake shore running northwest to southeast. To utilize solar gain to heat a passive solar home, we needed to consider the solar aspects of the site.

The set back is 75 feet from the shore, which brings us just below the crest of the hill. A typical configuration might be a 2 or 3 story cabin with a walk-out basement, pushed tight up against that setback line.

For us, we wanted our home to be more of a continuation of the hill, somewhat hidden from the lake, and human scale on the top of the hill. We wanted the lake to be a draw to go outside, vs a lake in a “picture frame”. So we considered pushing the house back from the set back. One of the advantages of that was less excavating toward the lake shore, leaving the slope largely undisturbed.

We also needed to optimize our solar gain to the south and our views to the north. The situation suggests a more open pavilion form, with windows on both the south and north side of a main open living area. That arrangement would also allow for a lot of natural air conditioning, with the breezes blowing up and over the hill. We also need to consider how to limit the heat loss on the north side, where a typical approach would be to put large double-height windows. to maximize the view.

A real puzzle!

Diagrams of site contours, zoning setbacks, solar exposure, natural ventilation and key views.