In addition to a commitment to building green, our clients for this project shared with us three particular goals: to connect to a courtyard or garden; to take advantage of a spectacular Bay view; and to harvest rainfall as a precious resource. These simple ideas became the main formgivers for the house.
We kept in mind the Roman impluvium, an ancient courtyard building type whose roofs flow to a central cistern. In our case, the site suggested an open courtyard. The impluvium unfolded to the view, optimizing solar orientation while loosely embracing a sunny outdoor room. The roof became a simple shed, flipped up at the southeast end to introduce daylight and direct water to a single downspout feeding an 8,500 gallon cistern.
A kitchen/dining/sitting area reaches to the distant view, while a central two-story living room links daily life to the more immediate sensory delights of a fully restored native plant garden and courtyard.
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I would like to learn about the cistern system and if the pumps work efficiently enough or you to recommend this way of doing rainwater collection. I am learning about the concepts but have not done a project with it yet. The project I have in mind is very small and one say I should have the water collect above my highest usage point.
Should have said some say