FOPPLE.COM

The Beitcher Residence was Designed by W3 Architects out of Venice, Santa Monica, California. The Beitcher Residence blends the client’s functional requirements with a variety of sustainable design strategies including passive solar design, state-of-the-art solar electric and solar thermal technologies. Nicknamed “The Integrated Solar House for Los Angeles,” the Beitcher Residence makes full use of the mild climate and the year round sun in the City of Angels.

The Beitcher Residence integrates green technologies including direct gain passive solar heating in the form of Trombe walls made of 8? CMU block walls and earth berms.

W3 Architects also incorporated the latest state-of-the-art solar technologies including an active solar thermal water heating system that heats the domestic hot water, in-floor radiant heating, the pool, and the spa.

The Beitcher Residence harnesses the power of the sun in a variety of different ways and proves that the right team, sustainable architect and eco-friendly client, can bring about a home that is sustainably extraordinary in a very ordinary way.

The residence is a two story, 4,160 sq. foot, passive solar dwelling including a communal living space connected to the dining, kitchen and outdoor living spaces; sitting room; sewing room; 3 bedrooms; 3 ½ bathrooms; Upper Level exterior covered deck and a “crash pad” for visiting children doubling as a home office

The placement of the house responds to the San Vicente Blvd. condition on the North and to a desire for optimal solar orientation from the East and South. The project owners and architect, as a team, sought and received specific adjustments to Santa Monica’s strict setback and stepback ordinances to allow vertical stacking along the North and to allow the second floor to extend to the West, creating full Southern exposure. Through these site-specific adjustments both a more optimal solar orientation and a maximized amount of open space (64%) were made possible.

VIA