Arielle Schechter Completes Two New Net Zero Houses

Rougemont Farmhouse | Photo by Tzu Chen

PRESS RELEASE — Arielle Condoret Schechter, AIA, the Chapel Hill, NC architect known for creating warm, modern, net zero/net positive homes that are beloved by their owners throughout the state’s Triangle region (Houzz.com), has added two more completed projects to her portfolio: “Rougemont Farmhouse” in Durham County, NC, and the Reddy-Yu Residence in nearby Chapel Hill.

Both new projects underscore an observation penned by Claire Conroy, the editor of Residential Design magazine, in 2021:

..At every turn…[Schechter] prioritizes the qualities of light, views, and building performance over superficial, budget-busting bling.

“Rougemont Farmhouse” is strategically oriented for solar gain on a 16-acre parcel in rural Rougemont, an unincorporated community that spans Durham and Person counties. The homeowner, a transplant from Northern California, sought a rural setting to accommodate her horse, who will be joining her on the property soon.

Rougemont Farmhouse | Photo by Tzu Chen

According to Schechter, her client wanted something “modest” to complement its context. “I personally love modest houses because they age well and they aren’t pretentious,” the architect said of the single-story house that includes approximately 2000 square feet of heated space plus a large, screened porch, a garage, and a small breakfast deck.

The house features only two bedrooms because the owner preferred to use a third bedroom’s square footage to enlarge the central living-dining-kitchen area and the main bedroom suite. To do that, Schechter moved the bedroom out at an angle “so it would have a little different view than the main rooms.” This also relocated the garage doors farther away from the front view of the house and created a small courtyard — one of this architect’s favorite spaces to give to her clients.

On the way to net zero function, Schechter specified a solar array for the roof and “my usual passive house details,” including a very tight building envelope. The house also features sustainable cork flooring and a sprinkler system, the latter “an unusual feature in a single-family house in NC,” she said, “but very smart” considering the remote location.

“This was such a satisfying project to work on for so many reasons,” Schechter added, “one of which was [the client] put her money toward good things, not wasteful ones.”

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Reddy-Yu Residence

The Reddy-Yu Residence is the house a transnational couple dreamed of, they said, for reducing their new home’s carbon footprint and environmental impact. Like all of Schechter’s residential projects, this house depends on both active and passive strategies to make it net zero, from (active) solar panels on the butterfly rooftop to the tight, leak-free building envelope with triple-glazed windows and exterior doors (passive). Broad roof overhangs protect the windows and doors from high summer heat. And on the northern elevation, the roof extends out over a large, screened porch to accommodate outdoor living.

Among the many design solutions specific to this couple’s lifestyle is the architect’s manipulation of the floorplan. For example, husband and wife are avid cooks of Indian and Chinese cuisine. To keep cooking aromas from affecting the entire house, Schechter made sure the kitchen could be completely closed off when necessary. And for personal privacy in the face of visiting friends and grandchildren, she created a clear separation between “public” spaces and the main bedroom suite both inside and out: A short gallery (inside) over a little bridge (outside) distinguishes each volume’s purpose.

Reddy-Yu Residence: The bridge between public and private spaces, and a rainwater collection cistern.

The Reddy-Yu Residence was featured on the 2023 Spring “Modapalooza Tour” of modernist houses sponsored by the non-profit organization NCModernist.org. And according to the group’s director, George Smart, it was “a big hit with our tour participants. They loved it.”

For more information on Arielle Condoret Schechter, AIA, visit acsarchitect.com.