Named after Emerson's 1841 essay, Self-Reliance refers to the spirit of self-reflection and independent decision-making embodied in that work. As Middlebury College's entry in the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon 2011, the last year that the teams assembled in Washington D.C., Self-Reliance marked the first time a liberal arts college competed against professional engineering or architecture programs. It was also an introduction to high performance building.
Design Goals
Aside from the requirements specific to performance in the Solar Decathlon's 10 events, there are many similarities between InSite and Self-Reliance. A strong separation of public and private space, high performance windows, maple flooring, slate, an envelope super insulated with cellulose and many more features link the two homes. However, where InSite looks outward to the surrounding community, Self-Reliance, true to its namesake, looks within, focusing on providing an environment fitted to the unique needs of a young family of four. We took pride in creating a space that was honest to the idea of a simple New England farmhouse, where visitors immediately feel familiar and comfortable, that makes them exclaim "I could live here."
Design Approach
Self Reliance adopts a simple, gabled form arranged along an East-West axis. A cutout and dropped ceiling add a sense of compression to the entry to which expands into the full height of the public space at the West end. Light wood and interior surfaces reflect light and provide contrast with the dark slate of the kitchen and the exterior. A green wall acts as a nursery and connects the kitchen to the raised bed garden on the southern deck. The bedrooms on the eastern end are reached through another compression, the ceiling lowering to articulate the division of space.