Tag Archives: custom home plans

From Napkin-Sketch to Virtual Reality

The Clients came to King Engineering with a beautiful Victorian concept and a dream of building a near net-zero home.  We were able to keep close to their concept while taking into account site constraints, constructability considerations, improved flow & spatial relationships, and re-sale appeal.  The home features full height ICF walls from basement to roof, a three-quarter wrap-around porch, a second floor balcony over the dining room with an indoor/outdoor fireplace, 10ft ceilings on the main floor, and two master suites.  The south side of the home will feature a ground-mounted solar array to meet the electrical demand and geothermal for heating & cooling.


APL #106 – Positive Outdoor Space

Home Renovation & Addition in Centennial, CO - Architectural design & structural engineering by King Engineering Make all the outdoor spaces which surround and lie between your buildings positive.  Give each one some degree of enclosure; surround each space with wings of buildings, trees, hedges, fences, arcades, and trellised walks, until it becomes an entity…
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APL #105 – South Facing Outdoors

Passive Solar SIP home - Architecture by Sunlight Homes, structural engineering by King Engineering Always place buildings to the north of outdoor spaces that go with them, and keep the outdoor spaces to the south. Never leave a deep band of shade between the building and the sunny part of the outdoors. From our blog…
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A Pattern Language (APL)

One of our most valued clients and a very talented energy efficient residential design firm, Sunlight Homes, introduced me to the architectural concepts of A Pattern Language, by Christopher Alexander.  This is perhaps standard text at architecture schools, but I would imagine most structural engineers would say, "A Pattern Who?".  A Pattern Language, or APL, is a…
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