On this beautiful wooded site with a restored prairie, the owner sought a cozy refuge with a minimal carbon footprint. This LEED Gold house was carefully sited in the midst of a restored prairie to visually connect to the pond below and trees above, with screened porches at the upper two levels. The guesthouse is for frequent family and friend visitors, but by keeping it separate, it can be run on low-power mode, allowing the main house to be the intimate domain of the owner. High insulation levels, triple-glazed windows, energy recovery ventilation, and airtight construction keep space conditioning demands low; a heat pump water heater, condensation dryer, induction cooktop, and LED lighting allow the annual energy to be offset with a solar PV array. As a Zero Energy Building, Net Zero Prairie retreat is highly functional and efficient, the indoors seamlessly blurring with the outdoors in a biophilic fashion with the environment. 

The owner created a pond by damming a stream that ran through the site, and in so doing, set up the perfect site for this house. Living spaces and bedrooms look east over the sloping site and pond below, with screened porches adjacent to allow mosquito-free enjoyment, including outdoor sleeping. A visual connection to nature pervades the living spaces, and natural materials, colors, and varying textures run throughout the interior. The stair railing, fabricated by the owner’s brother, was designed by TBDA to echo the patterns of branching in the trees outside. Water became a playful design element as well: all the roof runoff is directed to a constructed stream that winds south of the house to the pond.

This LEED-certified home also employs Passive design principles to achieve its high level of efficiency, comfort, and indoor air quality; this pertains to orientation and massing as well as insulation and airtightness. The interior opens primarily to the east and south, with the hot western sun tempered by a porch connecting to the guest house and garage. The partial walk-out basement also enjoys the pond view, while the 3-story massing makes for a compact thermal envelope.