This beautiful family property perfectly encapsulates what makes Southern Oregon the first choice for many looking to retire. The 5.5 acres blends the idyllic natural setting of this rural property with the cultural draw of downtown Ashland just 5 minutes north. Two brothers have worked with us to create a large barn and small 600 SF one bedroom home in anticipation of the larger main house to be phased in over the next several years. One brother has retired from the bay area and is currently occupying the small home and setting the plans for the family’s wine hobby to expand into a small vineyard on the property. In addition, there is conversation around planting an orchard and small garden that would potentially be the start of the family’s own Community Supported Agriculture program. The other brother looks forward to moving his family to Ashland from Corvallis upon retiring once the main home is complete. The small home employs techniques that are inspired by the Passive House standard. A few of the strategies utilized were walls constructed with 2 x 4 staggered studs to reduce thermal bridging, a thermally isolated 4” concrete slab on grade, and air conditioning through a heat recovery ventilator and night time passive ventilation. We implemented Passive House modeling for the project and improved the heating energy demand to less than 38% of what it would be if built to standards under current building code. Its carbon emissions are projected to be 29% of the same size structure built to code.

Featured in Cabin Living magazine Fall 2017 Issue.

Contractor: The Downey Company