Urban Eco-tecture (continued)
Rather than being seen as a hindrance, issues of sustainability were integral to the development of Fougeron’s design, including her provisions for the home’s ample daytime light. Despite the tall ceilings and north-facing windows, the existing loft was dark and disconnected from the outside. Fougeron, who received her degree in architecture from UC Berkeley, solved the problem through a series of straightforward and innovative gestures that are typical of her work, which often explores light and transparency.
Additional skylights were an easy fix. Less obvious and in fact quite transforming was her creation of the internal 16-foot-square courtyard that pulls unfiltered light into the center of the building and divides the floor plan into its distinct areas of use. The size of the courtyard was no accident: It maximizes light from above within the confines of structural logistics, and it is placed in the path of the most light as the sun arcs overhead. The courtyard’s sliders also allow for cross-ventilation, at no energy cost at all. All the new glazing in the building is insulated and has a low-E coating; artificial light is provided by high-efficiency, dimmable T-5 fluorescent tubes.
Even though it was an extravagance given the project budget, the clients insisted on a glassed-in master-suite penthouse, the addition of which required seismic retrofitting of the entire building—complex, unglamorous and expensive (although not a bad thing to have done in a masonry building in earthquake country). Even with the added cost and construction, “The penthouse wasn’t a tough decision,” says Shimer. “It makes the entire project for us.”
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