Pondicherry House

Project Scope:  Design of a new 2,950 SF house with two wings, one for living and one for sleeping, on a remote, wooded site. The house had to be LEED Platinum and Net-Zero Energy.

Site Description:  Four acres of forested land on a glacial pond on the edge of Acadia National Park. The approach to the site is along a steeply sloped drive through a forest of pine trees, ferns, moss, and ledge outcroppings.                 

Program/Special Constraints:  The owners wanted a small house that touched the earth lightly.  They were foresters and wanted the interiors to be made with all clear pine from their sustainable forests. Conservation easements required that the house be sited 150 feet from the edge of the pond. Minimal clearing of the forest was allowed.

Design Challenge:  To create a new way of living on Mount Desert Island, which had been a retreat for this family for over a century. They named the house Pondicherry, a new settlement, to describe their new way of life on the island, which sought to live in harmony with the National Park surroundings vs. the large cottages of Northeast Harbor where they had spent their youth.

Design Solution:  A simple house with two wings, one for living, the other for sleeping, and a limited palette of natural materials: stone, wood, metal and glass. The building forms are simple. They touch the earth lightly and reach out to embrace the natural setting. The roofs lift up to open the house to the sun and views of the mountains and pond. Overhangs shade the summer sun.  Rooms are modestly sized, with generous amounts of natural light. Exterior decks cantilever over a landscape of ferns and moss. Pondicherry was made by hand with sustainable materials and produces 38% more energy than it uses.

Sustainable Elements:  LEED PLATINUM CERTIFIED/Net Zero Energy: R-52 roofs, R-37 walls, R-20 below slabs, R-5.75 windows; high performance air-to-air heat exchangers; photovoltaic panels for electricity, solar thermal panels for hot water; ultra low flow/dual flush fixtures for water conservation; LED lighting, radiant heating, IPE rain screen siding, ultra-thin cantilevered roof overhangs.

Materials Used:  Wood frame on polished concrete slabs on grade, stone walkways, walls and benches, white cedar shingles, IPE siding and trim, triple glazed windows and lift/slide doors, metal roofs, FSC clear pine wall and ceiling boards, hardwood floors, polycarbonate countertops, porcelain tile bathroom floors and walls, Duravit fixtures.