The Taylor Residence

Completed in 1996, the Taylor residence is a new house which combines a clear historical style with energy efficiency and passive solar design. It is located on 13 acres in New Paltz, New York, and has 4,300 square feet of living space.

The Taylors hired Rountree Architects to design a house in keeping with the French Country Chateau style they had seen on their trips to France. The roof has a steep pitch, which flares out at the base to soften the visual weight of it. A synthetic stucco system was used to give the appearance of a masonry exterior wall, but to also add significant insulation (3" of rigid foam).

The house is located in a field with a gentle slope from north to south. RA was able to bury the house into the slope creating a 1-story house on the north side and a 2-story house on the south side. More and larger windows were used on the south side to capture solar energy and to take advantage of a great view.

The house uses a high efficiency "Energy-Kinetics" boiler that supplies hot water for domestic use as well as a radiant floor heating system. It also features a Swedish masonry stove, which burns wood slowly and efficiently, offsetting much of their need for oil.

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