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Methow Valley, Washington
Rising Eagle

A new sustainable residence located on a north-facing slope between the towns of Winthrop and Twisp. The small 1,600-square-foot residence was placed naturally into the hillside. To take advantage of the spectacular valley views, the owners wanted the kitchen, dining room, living room and office to wrap around 180 degrees, making the north wall a semi-circle with windows all the way around. The one-story house with loft was bermed into the hillside, tucking the house into the slope. The roof followed the slope of the hillside and wrapped around the house shooting up to the south. The high transom windows on the south side allowed for the warm winter light to stream into the house and down the ceiling. The house was framed in a double-wall fashion, creating a wall insulation value of R-45. The roof was insulated with high-density closed-cell foam, creating an R-value of 60. The radiant concrete slab was insulated to an R-30. Triple-pane windows and a whole-house heat recovery ventilator (HRV) allowed for an extremely tight and insulated home with plenty of natural ventilation and daylight.