Rotax North

Sited on a south-facing hillside in Monkton, Vermont, this project consists of a two-bed, two-bath, fully accessible home above a commercial space for a doggy daycare and an additional one-bedroom apartment. It is connected by a breezeway/entry porch to the garage that runs parallel to it, enclosing a three-sided entry court. The house is cut into the hillside to take advantage of the natural insulating qualities of the earth while providing beautiful views of the green mountains from the living spaces and bedrooms on the main floor. Cedar-clad porches bookend the structure on its east and west, providing plenty of useful outdoor living space from which to take in the views to the east and south. The house is constructed of prefabricated 12” thick wall trusses to create a super-insulated building envelope. This, combined with the south facing glazing and passive-house quality air-sealing, allows the home to meet all of its operational energy demand with a roof-mounted solar PV array.