This new development by Steven Holl Architects looks like a doll house. Kids will love it at first sight. Located in Rhinebeck (Upstate New York, near Woodstock), it sits in the middle of the green. But it has more than this…
This house embodies the new economy&ecology. Here’s how :
– Instead of subdividing the 28 acre site into five suburban plots, the land was joined as one rural preserve.
– Instead of building today’s typical “McMansion” of several thousand square feet, a single house of 918 ft2 is placed in the center of the site. A compressed form intersected by three spherical voids, the house has a kitchen at its center and is realized as one large room on three levels.
– Instead of fossil fuel, the house is heated geothermally.
– Instead of grid power, the house has electricity from the sun.

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