Credits: 1 AIA LU/Elective; 1 AIBD P-CE; 0.1 IACET CEU
May qualify for learning hours through most Canadian architectural associations

This webinar is part of the Custom Home Academy

This webinar will profile three custom home renovation projects and the challenges and opportunities faced by designers. Presenters will talk about the constraints on each project, whether due to site challenges or historic preservation requirements, and their approach to not only meeting the challenges but also forging new opportunities. In all cases, the projects highlight how designers can meet client wants and needs while creating unique and innovative spaces that will stand the test of time.

Nina Edwards Anker, Arkitekt MNAL, Assoc. AIA, Ph.D., Founder, neastudio, will present the Cocoon House project. This experimental three-bedroom home is anything but modest when it comes to environmental inquiry and sustainability credentials. It’s fully LEED certified, exceptionally well-sealed and almost completely self-sufficient.

Craig Hartman, FAIA, senior consulting design partner, SOM, will discuss the Sonoma County Cottage, his rolling 35-acre farm. The site, a former cattle ranch nestled within a hillside grove, now holds the first phase of the project, a net zero carbon a guest/caretaker cottage. Although Craig is known for tall and large-scale, program-intensive buildings this personal project marks his first venture into small scale residential

Brian MacKay-Lyons, FRAIC, RCA, (Hon) FAIA, Int FRIBA, NSAA, AAPEI, AANB, OAA, VT, NH, Principal at MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada will present the Bigwin Island project. The project consists of 40 cabins for a golf club on Bigwin Island, a forested resort on Lake of Bays, north of Toronto. Several designs are envisioned, all with the goal of emphasizing there context, whether it be forest, meadow, or lake views.

The presentations will be followed by a moderated discussion focused on how these innovative custom home projects address several key issues, including:

• Cost: What tradeoffs, if any, are required to achieve contemporary design excellence, particularly in terms of using energy-efficient, sustainable materials, products, and practices for the optimization of custom home designs? In the featured projects, what was the ultimate value in the specific design decisions?
• Aesthetics: What role did the desire for a particular aesthetic play in determining the scope and main features in the custom home designs? What were the results of those decisions? What were the obstacles?
• Drivers: Did the owners request certain features, or did you, as the architects, propose them? If the latter, what led you to suggest using specific materials or make specific design decisions to support the end goal? How did occupant satisfaction goals inform design decisions?
• Design constraints and opportunities: What were some of the unique constraints of the projects, and what opportunities did they create for innovative design?

Learning Objectives 

1. Describe two ways the Bigwin Island project demonstrates the dialog between architecture and nature.
2. Explain the layout of the Sonoma County Cottage.
3. List two emerging environmental technologies investigated nea studio’s Hamptons house.
4. Discuss the inspiration for the large, overhanging pyramidal roofs in the Bigwin Island project.

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