Vail Grant Residence – California.

Topography sculpted of folded, skewed metal planes; the Vail Grant House seems to enter into a love affair with its hillside site, blurring the boundaries between the natural and the artificial. Although the building appears to be a direct response to the topography, much of its shape actually derives from a translation of the complex setback and step back requirements of the hillside ordinances as they relate to this site.

The zoning codes require a lower building height towards the street and permit a taller structure further up the hill. By that means, it was possible to build relatively close to the street and establish a relationship to the smaller scale in the surroundings, while being able to increase the height further back in the lot—thus taking advantage of the spectacular views.

Although the Vail Grant Residence is situated on a hillside with a 66 percent grade, the architect derived its shape from setback ordinances imposed by local zoning. The house's main volume is a square that has been extruded into an elongated, twisted box that projects into the hillside. Its roof is folded; creating a series of voids and volumes that enable occupants to inhabit the house and simultaneously view it from within—the observer becomes the object of his own observation.

The building volume is created by a simple extrusion of a square, a neutral elongated twisted box that is projected into the site and sculpted along its contours. The folded roof is skewed where to allow directed views or openings. The building’s movement on the site describes a spiral that begins at a lower point closest to the street, travels up the hill, and then turns back towards the street and the lake, overlooking itself and creating an enclosed court in the center.

The architect's (Pugh + Scarpa Architects) main challenge was how to construct an exciting, yet economical design on an difficult site. The solution involved using Structural Concrete Insulated Panels (SCIPs), which are less expensive and easier to install than typical cast-in-place, formed concrete walls. The structure was developed as an exoskeleton against the earth with the inside forms and spaces defined by light gauge cold-rolled steel that can be folded and penetrated as necessary. The architect intentionally limited the building width to 15 feet to reduce spans and further simplify construction.

The Vail Grant House distinguishes itself from most conventionally developed projects in that it incorporates energy efficient measures that exceed standard practice, optimize building performance, and ensure reduced energy use during all phases of construction and occupancy. The planning and design emerged from close consideration and employment of passive solar design strategies. These strategies include: locating and orienting the building to control solar cooling loads; shaping and orienting the building for exposure to prevailing winds; shaping the building to induce buoyancy for natural ventilation; designing windows to maximize day lighting; shading south facing windows and minimizing west-facing glazing; designing windows to maximize natural ventilation; shaping and planning the interior to enhance daylight and natural air flow distribution.

Furthermore, the building width was intentionally limited to 15’ throughout, reducing spans and simplifying construction. Solar panels placed on the slope behind the house produce enough energy to make this a completely self-sustained building. Small diameter pipes are inserted into the hillside and thru the SCIP panels bringing 60 º C air into the building for natural air-conditioning. The large viewing window also allow the sun to heat the adjacent interior concrete slab creating natural convection that rises up the interior space and is vented at the uppermost portions of the building. This will allow natural airflow for both natural cooling and solar radiant heating. When completed the Vail Grant Residence will be 100% energy independent.By responding to the visceral aspects of the site, both physical and regulatory, a unique sustainable and economic design was achieved.