Solar Work of Robert Foote Shannon

Solar Work 1979-82

Early Cabin (2) and Rhinebeck

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Work was halted for several years, and the program drastically revised, since rather than a vacation home, this was to become a full time residence with a large office, a large shop, and a garage. The following model explores this change:

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Some partial models that explore the larger program looked at a solid north wall and a colonnaded south wall with a central circular stair behind a central octagonal water tower. The space between the north and south facades moves from expansive (for cars), to a zero point at the end of the west deck. The chimney tower and the passive refrigerator bulge out of the north wall which is windowless. In the built scheme the stair tower projects slightly, as well. Several years later construction began (photo below). The completed project may be viewed in full on another page.

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Designed in partnership with Michael Epp, this house on the Hudson never surpassed the working drawing stage, due to the clients divorce. However, some interesting solar ideas surfaced; a massive concrete wall divided the house in two, the south side being glazed on a step-back greenhouse with night insulating panels that could hinge open during the day. The other side was more solid to the exterior, but large openings in the mass wall allowed daylight to penetrate all 3 floors of this zone. The oversized solar hot water tank was cast into this wall, and the stair passed into the large space on the way to the second floor. The third floor on the west end was a study with a distant view, and was reached by a stair hidden inside the wall. Most of the mass wall was a rock bed that picked up the heat at the top of the space, but the south face of the wall was itself glazed. In summer a west facing collector drove chimney-effect ventilation for cooling. This idea was embellished in the next house in Blue Hills, MA.

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