Embracing a rugged rocky ridge on a remote island in Juan de Fuca Strait, Solar Crest is a completely off-grid home and garden. In section and plan, it combines a studied geometric formality with organic and sensuous elements that merge with its surrounding landscape of rounded glaciated granite.
Studio Name: Helliwell+Smith•Blue Sky Architecture
Design Team: Bo Helliwell + Kim Smith
Area: 260 sq. m. (2800 sq. ft.)
Year: 2010
Location: Gulf Islands, British Columbia, Canada
Consultants: Engineers: Chiu Hippmann Engineering
Contractor: R Parsons Construction
Photography Credits: Heath Moffatt & Blue Sky Archives
The plan of the house is an arc following the sun and the hill’s crest opening to southern light and views across the Strait to the Olympic Mountains in Washington State. In section, the roof undulates, a living sculpture responding to the hierarchy of spatial use, the opportunities of sun, air, views and the shape of the land itself. On the entrance garden side, lower flat roofs maximize light penetration into the house’s center and assist the natural ventilation throughout.
The building is off all energy grids and is oriented to maximize solar gain. Its central spaces are transparent so that the southern sun penetrates deeply into interior spaces, warming floors and walls. Ocean views to the south and west are open to all spaces including the south-facing outdoor room and terraces. The only level, outdoor spaces on the site are the terraces that had to be constructed. These cover five cisterns holding 168000 L (444,000 gallons) of rainwater collected from roof surfaces, and used for all domestic and landscape uses and available for fire-fighting To power the home, twenty-six solar photovoltaic panels are located out of sight from inside the house, leaning against the terrace’s curving south wall. When the electrical battery storage is low, a back-up diesel generator takes over. Other sustainable features are a wind turbine, on-demand hot water, radiant in-floor heating, LED lighting, energy efficient appliances, low-flush toilets and on-site vegetable gardens.
Because of a large introduced deer population on this island, all gardens need high fencing to protect them. Variously, this fencing is designed to be either visually non-obtrusive or a contrasting horizontal cedar screen landscape feature. The remote island has only private boat access and no local services, so all construction materials had to be moved by small barge with all attendant difficulties of weather, tides, and off-loading onto a small ramp. As with most Blue Sky buildings, wood frame was the construction choice, being a relatively light weight, easy to move and easy to use material.
Most of the fir and cedar used in the house is local, harvested and milled on nearby Vancouver Island. Large glass walls lining the dining room and adjacent entrance hall fully slide back to open the home to terrace, views and outdoor living. The inclusion of alternative energy systems enables the home to be situated in a stunningly beautiful, remote landscape completely free of organized energy grids and dependent only on the natural cycles surrounding it.
