"In 1986, LIFE Magazine invited six well known architects to design a 'Dream House', the plans for which would be available to anyone who wished to build them and one of whom was Hugh Newell Jacobsen".
This "Dream House" is located at 2975 Beechwood Boulevard in Squirrel Hill and overlooks Frick Park. The view from Lou and Amy Weiss' (home owners) backyard is second to none. It may even be one of the best views in Pittsburgh. This home is an architectural delight and it's on the way to becoming LEED Platinum Certified. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the standard for earth-friendly construction. The main emphasis is always focused on and around energy efficiency.
The site of this home is a former brownfield slag dump. When the lower Hill District was demolished to build the Civic Area, the debris was dumped on the current site of this home. Special excavation was necessary to prepare the land for this home.
Just to name a few of the green features of this house...
1. Follansbee Steel provided the standing seam steel roof. The roof is recycled and recyclable. It reduces heat absorption and should last 100 years.
2. Bayer Material Service provided open and closed cell spray foam insulation allowing the home to be sealed and in turn, producing very low heating and cooling costs. There is no roof vent but fresh air is brought into the home at a rate of 3,000 cfm.
3. All of the rainwater is harvested that falls on the roof into a river rock cistern, which is then pumped into the house for use in the home's toilets, hoses and drip irrigation.
4. The site's windmill provides power (through storage batteries) for exterior lighting and the outdoor water feature.
Furniture....
Almost every piece of furniture inside the home is from Weisshouse. Lines featured are Cassina, B&B Italia, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams and Artemide Lighting.
The kitchens (first and basement level), bathroom and closet cabinets are also from Weisshouse. The cabinetry is from Weisshouse's Modulo Cucine line in CITY (refer to past blogs for more details).
It was truly a pleasure to spend three days at this incredible home. I must agree with both Lou and Amy, being in this house makes you feel like you are on vacation every day.
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| living room (MET sofas) |
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| dining room (Modulo Cucine wall-hung buffet) |
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| view from backyard |
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| water feature |
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| windmill |
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| swing |
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| exterior and raised bed vegetable garden |
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| kitchen (Modulo Cucine) |
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| butler's pantry |
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| powder room |
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