By Robyn Griggs Lawrence
Michael Funk’s 1,200 acres along the Yuba River in the Sierra Nevada foothills above Nevada City, California, are simply phenomenal. Anyone fortunate enough to spend time there can’t help being rejuvenated and inspired. Majestic waterfalls, dramatic gorges and fairy-tale woodlands creep into your soul. You leave with a rekindled appreciation for nature’s magnificence and a renewed commitment to preserve endangered places such as this. That’s just how it was planned.
Michael had two primary intentions for his land: maintain the pristine nature and share it with others. He envisioned a refuge, permanently protected from development that’s engulfing many river valleys and gorges near Nevada City. He dreamed of creating a retreat for his business associates and members of the environmental organizations which he’s active in. So when it came time to develop his home on this land, Michael asked architect Jeff Gold to build something grand yet humble.
“I wanted to put roots in real deep and be here the rest of my life,” says Michael, the president and CEO of United Foods, the nation’s largest wholesaler of natural and organic products. “I wanted to build a house that blended with the property and was an example of green building and sustainable processes—a place where we could have meetings and draw people to do environmental work. It’s important to provide places where people can experience a direct connection to nature.”
Unusual Yet Functional Design
Michael also wanted views of both the Rock Creek waterfall and the Yuba River rapids, so Gold drew lines radiating from a large circular living room toward both watersheds. Ample windows offer views of the Rock Creek waterfall and the Yuba River gorge, as well as passive solar heating and abundant natural light. A courtyard garden, a “sun” terrace and a “shade” terrace offer transition spaces between nature’s wilds and the home’s shelter.
Important elements included a large meeting room and kitchen, two private guest suites, an office, a board room, and a large root cellar. This all added up to 6,000 square feet when completed.
“The house is certainly not scaled as a conventional family house would be, and it was definitely a challenge to do a house this size and have it not appear that large,” Gold says. “Yet, when you come in, even if there are just two or three people in the house, it doesn’t seem huge. There are no large, cavernous spaces. It’s broken up enough so you feel a sense of intimacy.”
Michael describes it as “a big house with lots of little places to hang out.”
To accommodate the site’s steep slope and minimize the visual impact of the building size, Gold placed half the house underground. This also helps cool the home in summer months.
Energy Independence
Michael was adamant about two things: using natural, local materials and powering the place without fossil fuels. After a brief consideration of wind power and small-scale hydro (which would have harmed the creek), Funk and Gold discovered that the site was in an ideal candidate for solar energy. An array of 92 photovoltaic panels and large battery bank would supply most of Michael’s needs.
“We couldn’t have air conditioning, which I was a little afraid about—even though I don’t even really like air conditioning—because this is a hot climate,” Michael says. Because the home is naturally ventilated, as long as all the windows are opened at night to capture the cooler air, it remains comfortable during the day. “That was a big relief,” he says. “I have to admit, I had a bit of doubt until I’d experienced all four seasons here.”
Powering such a large home using only solar energy is not easy. Michael is more aware of how everything consumes energy, and he’s working to educate his houseguests as well. “I’m a freak about saving energy,” he says. “A lot of people don’t have that same consciousness, so I’m always running after people, turning off lights behind them.”
Michael has cut about 1/4 of his energy use since moving in to the house, and he made it through last winter—when the distant sun generally doesn’t provide a lot of power—without resorting to the back-up propane generator.
Cooperative Contractors
At Michael’s request, Gold searched out local, sustainable materials whenever possible. He found weathered, fireproof Sierra granite, which provides thermal mass, for the exterior. “Most of that stone was gathered by hand,” Gold says. “It’s called ‘peeler’ granite because it peels off the top of the bedrock. It’s not quarried.” Irregular shapes of granite stones presented challenges to the stonemasons who built Michael’s house. “In the end, though, the masons really appreciated doing something different,” Gold adds.
When adequate local materials couldn’t be found, Gold found sustainable alternatives including western red cedar and cherry wood salvaged from Brazilian reservoirs. These woods were finished with natural oils.
“We took the whole question of toxicity and sustainability seriously,” Gold says. “One of the challenges was keeping the project moving forward while researching materials and doing design changes.”
Gold was the contractor as well as architect. Working closely with Michael and the craftspeople, he responded to challenges as they arose and offered suggestions as the project progressed. “I drove Jeff nuts, I know, as it was coming together,” Michael says, “but I wanted to keep it a dynamic process.”
Gold happily rose to the challenge. “I like to step out of the office and oversee the physical construction; it lets me sustain a dialogue with the building, and it becomes a much more intimate process,” he says.
“The people who worked on this house really understood and appreciated the principles and the commitment behind it, and they put an extra effort into their work because it was part of a larger whole that they really appreciated,” Gold says. “When something is literally put together by hand like this house was, people enjoy coming through. The workers would hang out here at the end of the day after the work was done. They just enjoyed the creative process, the act of sharing it with everyone.”
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