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Like a Houseboat
Like a Houseboat
45, Vanguard Way, Dallas, TX, United States
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Like a Houseboat
45, Vanguard Way, Dallas, TX, United States
Type
YEAR
2008
SIZE
1000 sqft - 3000 sqft
From Residential Architect:
Based on location alone, this 1,490-square-foot house takes
significant steps toward a reduced carbon footprint. It’s part
of Urban Reserve, a development of modern residences in
Dallas that sits near a light-rail station and a hiking and
biking trail. Along with this proximity to green transportation
options, the zero-lot-line community encourages space-
efficient house designs. “Just the way it’s planned
automatically puts Urban Reserve into a more sustainable
category,” says Dan Shipley, FAIA, principal of Dallas-based
Shipley Architects.
But he and the homeowners took the project much further
into green territory, ultimately achieving LEED Platinum
status. The clients “did all the LEED paperwork,” Shipley
confides. “That allowed us to concentrate on designing the
house.”
One of their biggest challenges was the site’s poor soil
quality. The property was once a landfill, and its weak,
expansive soil has a low bearing capacity. But Shipley and
his staff came up with a creative, cost-effective solution:
They floated the house above the earth on steel beams
supported by concrete piers. This siting method upped the
home’s green quotient, due to its minimal disturbance of the
land. The design team even managed to incorporate salvaged wood—2-inch-by-12-inch planks from the dance floor at the clients’ wedding—into the main floor frame.
A geothermal system heats and cools the house, as is the case in many of the firm’s recent projects. “We’ve been doing
geothermal a lot lately,” Shipley says. “People like the idea of it. It uses natural means for the heat exchange, and it gets
rid of awkward, clumsy condensing units.” Pressure-treated wood that typically would be used for porch flooring makes
an unconventional siding material. “It just goes up quickly,” he notes. And a ramp of metal grating creates a more
substantial entry passage into the 20-foot-wide home. “In small houses, the question is always, How do you have a
sense of arrival and movement?” he says. “Once you do go in the front door, you’re right there at the kitchen island. The
ramp was a way of leveraging or extending the sense of arrival.” The gangplanklike ramp, along with the home’s compact,
floating nature, inspired the nickname “Like a Houseboat.”
Based on location alone, this 1,490-square-foot house takes
significant steps toward a reduced carbon footprint. It’s part
of Urban Reserve, a development of modern residences in
Dallas that sits near a light-rail station and a hiking and
biking trail. Along with this proximity to green transportation
options, the zero-lot-line community encourages space-
efficient house designs. “Just the way it’s planned
automatically puts Urban Reserve into a more sustainable
category,” says Dan Shipley, FAIA, principal of Dallas-based
Shipley Architects.
But he and the homeowners took the project much further
into green territory, ultimately achieving LEED Platinum
status. The clients “did all the LEED paperwork,” Shipley
confides. “That allowed us to concentrate on designing the
house.”
One of their biggest challenges was the site’s poor soil
quality. The property was once a landfill, and its weak,
expansive soil has a low bearing capacity. But Shipley and
his staff came up with a creative, cost-effective solution:
They floated the house above the earth on steel beams
supported by concrete piers. This siting method upped the
home’s green quotient, due to its minimal disturbance of the
land. The design team even managed to incorporate salvaged wood—2-inch-by-12-inch planks from the dance floor at the clients’ wedding—into the main floor frame.
A geothermal system heats and cools the house, as is the case in many of the firm’s recent projects. “We’ve been doing
geothermal a lot lately,” Shipley says. “People like the idea of it. It uses natural means for the heat exchange, and it gets
rid of awkward, clumsy condensing units.” Pressure-treated wood that typically would be used for porch flooring makes
an unconventional siding material. “It just goes up quickly,” he notes. And a ramp of metal grating creates a more
substantial entry passage into the 20-foot-wide home. “In small houses, the question is always, How do you have a
sense of arrival and movement?” he says. “Once you do go in the front door, you’re right there at the kitchen island. The
ramp was a way of leveraging or extending the sense of arrival.” The gangplanklike ramp, along with the home’s compact,
floating nature, inspired the nickname “Like a Houseboat.”
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