Sustainable Land Development Today - May 2008 - (Page 29)

The Heavenly Retreat Project. Photo courtesy of Mr. Joel Goldblatt, New Mexico, USA. a solar power system, which in this example would yield a total daily power demand of 24,000 watt hours that in turn, translates into a 4,000-watt solar power system. The Heavenly Retreat Project Here is an example of excellence in solar-heating and power-generation design. The designer has taken maximum advantage of applying sustainable-energy systems design and has blended the technology with the natural setting of the environment. The Heavenly Retreat is a unique, celestially-aligned, passive and active solar home, with two built-in integrated greenhouses, located at 9000 feet elevation in the northern New Mexico Rockies. The heavily forested land is located on the northwest face of an 11,600 foot peak facing Wheeler Peak, the highest point in New Mexico a landmark in the Southern Rockies. The property slopes and is set amidst tall pines and fir trees. The south side of the property opens to a large garden with a solar calendar that marks the sunrises and sunsets through the year within a meditation circle and seating area. The passive solar design was established by first visiting the natural, forested area many times over a threeyear period, from 1985 to 1988, to measure and observe the motions and arc of the Sun and Moon, as well as establish celestial cardinal points to North and South. The design aligns many rooms and exterior walls toward Polaris in the north, and thus establishes solar south. Many rooms have markers and cast shadows along the floors that show when the sun is at the solar south position, thus indicating the daily time of local solar noon, creating a silent rhythm within the living spaces. Using these studies of the sun, moon and planetary alignments, as well as building with adobe, heavy beam, and recyclable-product construction and insulation, the home is a tribute to its environment being embedded into the forest floor, and rising with three terraced stories to a meditation room with a pyramid skylight and a geodesic dome garage. It produces its own solar electricity (3.6 kW) and solar thermal heating (180,000Btus/hr) for ten zones of hydronic, radiant-floor heating. It includes three, year-round producing greenhouses, and an organically cultivated summer garden. Stepping outdoors from one of three patios, trails go off into the forest with over 50 acres of alpine forest and meadows, sharing the forest with deer, elk and many other animals. The home was com- A FIBER-OPTIC AMENITY IS A PROVEN WAY TO SELL UNITS FASTER. Connexion Technologies invests in your properties using our capital to design, build, deploy and manage a state-of-the-art fiber network. The best part? Being a Certified Fiber-Optic Development differentiates your properties as television, telephone and Internet services are seamlessly delivered to residents at the speed of light. Buyers value this cutting-edge technology in their new home. Find out if your property meets our investment criteria and realize the selling power of fiber. 919.535.7329 | CNXNTECH.COM Circle 145 • or www.SLDTonline.com/webcard www.SLDTonline.com 29 http://CNXNTECH.COM http://CNXNTECH.COM http://www.SLDTonline.com/webcard http://www.SLDTonline.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Sustainable Land Development Today - May 2008

Sustainable Land Development Today - May 2008 Contents Our Voice Editorial Board SLDT Resources Addressing a Crisis with Wastewater Recycling Visionary Award Finalists The Jonquil City - How a City Revitalized its Downtown Industry Spotlight: Enviroquip Solar Power System Design and Installation Stormwater: The Return of the Cistern Site Amenity: Fiber Optics Surveying and Mapping Wastewater: Low-Pressure System Special Feature: The Urban Canopy as Infrastructure Industry News Advertiser Index Products/Services Showcase Classifieds The Last Word: Nature Bats Last…

Sustainable Land Development Today - May 2008

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