Wood Residence
Wood Residence, Crowsnest Pass, AB
The Woods were a young couple emigrating from England to Canada. They purchased five acres of land in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and wanted to build a house off the grid. The basic strategy was to build a simple structure partially burred into a south-facing hillside. The house was extensively insulated and has a continuous wall south facing windows. Apart from the solar gain from the windows, a wood burning fireplace provides the heat while remote solar panels provide the electricity.
The model shows the house as it was initially designed but the high cost of the required structure for a totally buried roof and other geotechnical considerations forced us to relocate the house on the site and raise it slightly out of the ground.
Since moving into the house the couple have had two children and experienced a cougar attempting to snatch their dog away from in front of the living room windows.
They have settled into life in Canada and remain off the grid.