Photo: Kevin Scott / Olson Kundig

Sawmill

Tehachapi, California

Set in the harsh high desert of California, Sawmill is a family retreat embedded into the tough, scrubby landscape. Sawmill harnesses the challenges and opportunities of its remote site, emphasizing sustainable strategies and reclaimed materials. Demonstrating that high design can also be high performance, Sawmill is a net-zero home that operates completely off the grid.

Connections

The client brief called for a self-sufficient home that maximized connection between architecture and nature, and between family members inside.

The Tent

Riffing on the tradition of tents around a campfire, the house is comprised of three wings connected by the central hearth in the living area. Here, a 12-by-26-foot window wall retracts with the turn of a wheel, transforming the outdoor patio into the fourth “tent” around the fire.

Tough as Nails

Sawmill is made from durable materials that can withstand the harsh climate, where fires are a major hazard in summer and winters are extremely cold. The design approach was driven by a scavenger mentality, seeking always to do more with less, including using salvaged and recycled materials whenever possible. Sawmill stands as a testament to high design as an environmental ethic—a building that connects people to place.

It is my belief that architecture should be responsive to its site and give to rather than take from its surroundings, and this net-zero project exemplifies that. I am grateful to our client for inviting me to work on Sawmill and for having such ambitious goals for building performance and sustainability.Tom Kundig, FAIA, RIBA
Design Principal
This house captures the phenomenology of living in the desert with the use of simple, frugal, reclaimed materials. The concept and composition are elegant yet straightforward. This is an excellent example of the potential beauty in a holistic passive approach. The house is completely off grid with a light environmental footprint.AIA COTE Jury

Sun Protection

Expansive roof protects interiors from summer sun. 11-kW PV array with 8-kW battery backup enables the house to be truly off-grid.

Fireplace

Fireplace works as lateral bracing for structure as well as gathering place for the family. Three air passes to maximize heat extraction and to provide heat to the basement. Concrete mass stores heat for many hours.

Passive Cooling

The house is oriented to take advantage of canyon wind patterns and diurnal temperature changes. Large openings allow for passive cooling.

Heating

Thermal loads are met with a high-performance ground-source heat pump that supplies water (warm or chilled) to a radiant floor.

A.) Radiant slabs provide comfortable and efficient heating

B.) Water-to-water ground-source heat pump provides efficient heat source

C.) Ground coupled heat loop allows the building to pull heat from the ground

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