Solar Staircase House

 1982   New England
1,000 sf, 2BR home
Principal: Michael Wisniewski        

Garden Way sponsored a competition for a 1,000 sf home; this was one of the winners and published in their book. From experience in my Esplumoir House I knew that a very small house with lots of south glass could lead to too much sunlight!

The basic idea here was to use the staircase as the major passive solar collector so that it would filter the light into the living area.  The other south glazing has trellis shading devices.

The other central idea was to place the entry porch on the corner which allowed flexibility in siting the house; whichever way south was the entry could be visible from the street or approach.