Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Casa Familia by Kevin deFreitas


Architect Kevin deFreitas has designed a home for his family in San Diego, California.

You can watch a video of Kevin giving a tour of the house - here.

Full description after the photos….

Casa Familia by Kevin deFreitas

A reinterpretation of quintessential Southern Californian courtyard houses; this is a modestly sized home that lives much bigger than it really is by thoughtfully opening up to, and engaging the landscape and wonderfully temperate coastal climate. It is a home that simultaneously looking towards the future (technologically feature rich), while remembering the low-tech comfort strategies of the past, a time before air conditioning and forced air units existed.

The goal of this project was to design and construct a highly efficient home that would employ passive and active strategies to significantly reduce energy, water, and resource consumption all while delivering a modern, comfortable and livable home for a young family of six.

Through concerted research, experimentation and a good measure of faith, the house proved a success consuming 65% less electricity than state mandated standards, and 55% less water than homes of comparable size without sacrificing comfort or aesthetics. From an architectural standpoint it was important to dispel the common public misperception that efficiency and conservation has to look “hippie” or alternative.

Like the song says, “it’s not easy being green,” but it likewise is not difficult either, and the ramifications for future generations are enormous.

Visit the deFreitas Architects website - here.Best of interior and architecture

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