Espola Residence

One of the challenges with this project was its location. Set in Poway, this 1.3 acre lot is conveniently located off a major arterial road and in close proximity to a community park and two elementary schools. However, with that proximity comes a high volume of traffic and the potential for noise. Privacy, sustainable design, and energy efficiency were the driving factors in the design of this 5,000 sf. tuscan style villa. The focal point of the home is a beautiful 2,000 sf courtyard which connects most of the interior living spaces, creating an oasis of calm. The placement of the home on the site combined with its height and material selection help deflect traffic noise even when in the courtyard. The courtyard allows the home to employ several passive cooling strategies, with its water feature and generous vegetation, keeping the home comfortably cool in warm summer months without air conditioning. Another unique passive feature of the home is its additional 5,000 sf basement. Because the basement is located mostly below ground the temperature is much more stable keeping it cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter than the house above. By locating the air handling units in the basement the home is able to draw this conditioned air up into the main house with only a fan and without the need to engage air conditioning units or furnaces. The home is split into separately controllable zones allowing the bedrooms, for example, to be conditioned during the night without using energy to condition unoccupied parts of the house. The site is also configured so that all the rain and ground water from the site is collected in a 1,300 gallon cistern and used for landscape irrigation.