Contemporary Wine Country Architecture: Healdsburg Vineyard

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As a beautiful example of wine country architecture, this project is set on a 200 acre vineyard in Healdsburg, Sonoma County, California.  This house is designed as an intervention to an old family home destroyed by fire.  The only salvageable elements were the old gable roof and river rock hearth. Complementing the existing gable, a series of sloped and flat roof planes provide for clerestory windows that bring abundant natural light to the space.  A flat, wooden ceiling over the living area continues to the exterior seamlessly connecting the surrounding porch.  This long eave emphasizes the view across the vineyard to the coastal range and provides an ideal location for an integrated solar array. Bands of salvaged cedar at the base of the house support climbing wisteria and bind the house to the landscape as it rises from the rows of vines.

Ken Gutmaker, Photography

Eco-Justice

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Supporters of eco-justice attack the historic lack of regard for non-human parts of the environment. They encourage respect for living things as well as the various parts of the biosphere.

Advocates of eco-justice reject the idea that the worth of a thing is its value to human beings. They argue that other parts of nature have value entirely independent of their usefulness to humanity.

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Edward Burtynsky – Manufactured Landscapes

Natural systems depend on diversity, and adaptation to provide resilience in a dynamic environment

Human beings, as part of this system, depend upon bio-diversity as a reservoir of potential that allows for the entire system to respond to changing conditions.

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Edward Burtynsky – Manufactured Landscapes

Given our growing ability to comprehend the profound nature of these inter-relationships, human beings have an ethical responsibility to protect these processes.

Wasteful practices and their hazardous byproducts have typically impacted the less fortunate (or less vocal), be they human, animal or plant, giving rise to the idea of Eco-Justice

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Edward Burtynsky – Manufactured Landscapes

There are a variety of Guidelines and programs aimed at reducing our environmental footprint.  The more modest attempt to be “less bad.” The most progressive propose to create a healing framework.

  • Reducing Impacts
  • Increasing efficiency
  • Achieving Net Zero Energy Use
  • Achieving Net Zero Water Use
  • Building Regenerative Systems
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Edward Burtynsky – Oil

Architect’s Response

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