BDW Discreetly Green:
Net-Zero Design With Beauty in Mind

The first floor functions as a living room in the summer with French doors that open to the view. At the end of the season, the furniture is moved aside to make room for the pick-up truck. Lanterns suspended from the points of the roof are standard mooring balls fitted with light bulbs inside.

Over half the interior of the tiny house is a great lodge hall, extending to the full height of the roof and centered on a massive stone fireplace. Tree trunk porch columns give the entry façade something of the aspect of a primitive shrine.

A tower serves as the entrance and links the main wing of the house to the guest quarters. The entry under the tower is like a breezeway with barn doors on each side and dark interior finishes of a tack room. The new house and barn face a courtyard incorporating the remains of old farm buildings.

This house is the first Passive House in Vermont, the first modular Passive House in the United States, and the first Habitat for Humanity Passive House.