HOW THESE HOMES CAME TO BE

"Our sense of beauty and our understanding of the nature of a good life are intertwined."

—Alain de Botton, The Architecture of Happiness

These houses are part of a living experiment, and the first house—for my own family—is the guinea pig. Designed with ecological principles of passive solar design and natural ventilation in mind, these homes also apply new building materials and construction methods. Inspired by ideas both old and new, I wanted to create houses that feel fresh and practical, and at the same time timeless and a bit dreamy.

The Solar Courtyard Home was born out of my spouse's one wish—that he could be around a lemon tree even in wintertime. I didn't think he was alone in longing for a bit of real greenery and the sun's warmth in the midst of our New England winters, or generally for longing for more ways to feel connected to the world around us throughout the year, while working to reduce our ecological footprint. Would it be possible to combine the beloved characteristics of such spaces as the screen porch, the sunroom or conservatory, a courtyard—into one kind of space at the heart of a house? The ecological premise is simple—extending our season of enjoyment and utility of spaces under natural conditions reduces our dependence on artificial systems. It turns out that a fairly large, retractable skylight (with a screen, to keep out bugs) isn't so expensive to be beyond the reach of a middle-class home. Thus emerged the idea of the Solar Courtyard Home.

From there, the questions become, "what kind of house does one design around a courtyard, and how big or small should it be?" Size is a big dilemma. From an ecological point of view, houses want to be small to promote energy efficiency and reduce material consumption. But they also want to be big enough to be useful for things like growing and processing food and hanging laundry to dry. When it comes right down to it, you need the right kind of small—and the right kind of big. At about 2400 square feet, including the solar courtyard space, I don't know if I managed to hit the right balance—but I am sure my family (including my parents, who will be moving into the apartment on the lower level) will let me know.

—Ray Kinoshita Mann