The T — HOUSE Story

TRADITIONAL HARROP-PROCTER HOUSE

The Traditional Timber Framing Company in partnership with Harrop-Procter Community Cooperative

Some of the most admired architecture was created by combining local skilled labour with locally available materials. Particular care was taken when building materials, mainly wood, were extracted from the landscape surrounding the building site. It resulted in a level of connectivity between builders and their supplier - nature.

The timber for each T - House is supplied by the Harrop-Procter Community Forest. It is located on a North facing aspect at the shores of the West Arm of Kootenay Lake, British Columbia, Canada. It takes it’s name from the Communities that border the forest. This is where the majority of people reside that produce the T - House. Their main interest is to preserve the quality of the living forest at their doorstep, which includes the supply of their drinking water.

The maintenance of our ecosystem is a service that nature provides free of charge. It’s value is not factored into the cost of a building. Although no monetary cost of nature’s services has been considered for the T - House, a walk in the forest after the harvesting season exemplifies the reduced ecological foot print of the new structure. Environmental considerations don’t stop with the raw material supply. Localized primary break down and processing ensures minimal impact of transportation.

This innovative design starts ‘on the stump’ with the selection of trees that compliment the ecosystem based forest management plan of the Harrop Procter Community Cooperative which manages the forest. Structural and finish design derive from those particular trees. This approach to wood architecture is the base for a healthy ecosystem.

Maintaining a healthy outdoor environment is the mandate of product procurement for the T - House. The building itself strives to provide a healthy indoor environment for it’s occupants. Shape and size of the space forming the structure are an important factor on how the quality of a building is perceived. Currently we are experiencing a shift in the definition of that quality. An awareness for the ecological footprint of our building and general consumer activities guides new home buyers to more compact architectural design. This is the strength of the T - House, continuing a management tradition that started on the forest floor, showing restraint with a long term vision for the future. Creating an efficient, small & well designed home that can provide a nourishing environment.

Wood as the main building material provides a rich texture that only improves as it comes of age, underlining the long term vision of the design. The building envelope features highly insulated walls that in combination with the appropriate building site allow for a passive house or net zero design. A high wood content in the structure provides thermal mass, which improves heating and cooling cycles in any location. An additional benefit is the possibly to place a variety of value added products in the T - House to better reflect the timber harvest profile of the community forest.

Current designs were specifically created for the Kootenay region, which is mountainous, at times rainy, with long periods of inversion weather patterns (persistent cloud cover). The design is based on a modular template that can be adapted site or region specific. The focus in the design process lies on the energy efficiency of the building. This is achieved by minimizing the exterior wall surface in relation to the sqft of floor space created, in combination with a breathable high performance envelope.  An approach that makes this eco friendly home more affordable to build and maintain.

For further information please contact 250.229.2120 or timberframe@handwerk-bc.com