CNC Plankhouse

Embracing the Sholwater tribe’s philosophy of working with the land and doing no harm to nature, the CNC Plankhouse's design relies on site conditions, traditional spatial relationships, off-grid living, passive houses, and wiki boxes. This project was designed as a studio group where everyone was part of the design process.

The upland expansion provides different sloped conditions that trigger variations of locations where outdoor spaces can be placed along the home. Using the building as wind protection, floor plans were designed for the three different conditions that can be adaptable for depending on the site chosen.

The interior takes after traditional social space arrangement with public spaces in front and private spaces in back. The main floor of the building can be placed above or below a slope, and a simple addition can be added to expand the building as it lightly touches the surrounding site. This light touch extends to the use of the resources from the land and allows the house to be off-grid. The great wind from the west can be used to create energy to power the house; enough rainwater can be collected by the roof to provide for the
needs of the household and will be cleaned before going back to the land. Vermicomposting is suggested as a way of using the natural process of the land to provide fertilizer for other crops or gardens from waste.

The Wiki box structure is both structural and thermal, providing an all-in-one building material that can be made complete with a CNC machine and installed with a small team of people. This passive house structure provides an installation that allows for less energy to be used via a heating source.