Edgeland House. Old model for a contemporary home.

US architects Bercy Chen Studio LP have based their contemporary home on one of the oldest housing typologies in North America, the Native American Pit House. The site is rehabilitated and the house stands out for its energy efficiency and aesthetic.



The project by Bercy Chen Studio LP combines an archaic housing model, the Pit House – excavated in the earth and with a green roof – adopted by some of the Native North American tribes, with modern shapes and materials like glass and steel, to create a light-filled, highly energy efficient home.





And because it is sunken, the house is well insulated, making it warm in winter and cool in summer. An integrated heating, ventilation and cooling system (HVAC) is used for climate control. The green roof not only blends the house into the landscape, it also improves insulation.





Despite the fact that most of the perimeter is sunken, the spaces are well lit thanks to an inner courtyard positioned between the two separate pavilions for the living and sleeping quarters. They open up onto the inner void, which physically separates them, requiring you to go outside to pass from one to the other. This blade of light flows into the pool that completes the composition.





Edgeland House is located in an abandoned industrial area, on a rehabilitated site. The architects worked together with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center of the University of Texas. This choice is all about healing the land and raising awareness about the natural environment, clearly expressing the architecture firm’s attention as a member of the Texas City of Austin’s Green Building Program and USGBC.

Project: Bercy Chen Studio LP, http://bcarc.com/
Location: Austin, Texas, USA
Year: 2012
Photo: Paul Bardagjy, http://www.bardagjyphoto.com/
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, http://www.wildflower.org/