For those of you who were lucky enough to attend/recall our sustainability-inspired lounge night in February, you likely remember Chris Price. Young. Motivated. The architect that built that sweet-ass, passive solar home in Summit Park with his own hands. Yes, him. Chris and his ‘Summit Haus’ are two recipients of our COLLECTIVE thumbs up emoji. This highly-efficient abode is as awe-striking in its resourcefulness as it is in its aesthetic uniqueness. A lesson of sorts in both green building and great design. In constructing his place, Chris utilized the stringent ‘Passive Haus’ standards to create what is ultimately a thing of beauty in all rights. Summit Haus is well thought out, to be sure. Beautifully integrated into the lot on which it sits, the structure takes full advantage of its environment; sunlight streams in at all the right times and fades when it should. Having been built into the hillside, the earth serves to further insulate what is already a well-coated home, to say the least. In fact, Summit Haus is one of the most insulated homes in our state, and nearly air tight: triple-pane, high-efficiency windows, walls that are 16" thick, and a roof with a whopping R-value of 91 (ahem…most homes fall somewhere in the 30s). We can stand around with our hands in our pockets, stance all wide, and talk shop all day…there's plenty to gush about, and quite frankly, we think everyone should be building to these standards. But we can also attest to the easy-breezy, straight-up comfort of Summit Haus.
It's a mix, really: equal parts modern, cozy, and highly livable. A superb space for just hanging out. Naturally, then, when Chris took a break from designing, building, traveling, skiing, etc. and invited us to chill for a while with him and his wee dog, Moose (jokes), we were completely game. And, as luck would have it, we made it up the hill on one of our very few snowy days this year. Just in time to have some smoothies, kick back, take in the jaw-dropping scenery, and bask inside the thick-ass walls of some really swell design. The visit made us think for a minute…wouldn't it be amazing if this house were to hit the market this summer? #totally
