The North Beach Residence is a Low Impact, Green-Roofed Summer Home on Orcas Island

Designed for use in between May and October, the North Beach Residence on Orcas Island in Washington is all about easy summertime living. The home, designed by <a href="http://www.heliotropearchitects.com">Heliotrope Architects</a> features a <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/green-roof">green roof</a> on top of the low and long structure and was built to minimize impact on the site. Low maintenance materials like steel, metal and glass keep extra work to a minimum and solar hot water and photovoltaics provide on-site energy for the home. And since the residence is only open for half of the year, the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/category/solar-power">PV system</a> generates enough power throughout the seasons to totally cancel out the summertime's energy usage.

Oriented perpendicular to the beach fronting the Strait of Georgia, the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/vacation-home">summer home</a> is set back a bit from the water and placed behind a row of fir trees.

Long and rectangular, the home is afforded views of both the water and to a meadow and a pond in the opposite direction.

The three bedroom, 2,070 sq ft house features two bedrooms on one side and the master bedroom on the opposite side and a open living/dining/kitchen space in the middle.

No trees were removed for construction and a matt-slab was poured right over the grass in order to eliminate excavation of the site.

View of the home from the beach.

Steel and glass construction minimize the visible structure afford the inhabitants better views, while the metal-clad walls provide a bold form with zero maintenance.

On top of the residence is a <a href="http://inhabitat.com/category/green-roof">green roof</a> planted with native grasses to soak up rainwater, which is then collected an stored in two 5,000 gallon catchment tanks and use for landscape irrigation.

A 90-tube solar hot system installed on the roof, provides domestic hot water, while a 3 kW PV system generates electricity.

Over the entire year, the PV system generates enough power to totally offset all the energy used during the summer months, making this home net zero.

The North Beach Residence received a <a href="http://www.aia.org/practicing/awards/2011/housing-awards/north-beach-residence/index.htm" target="_blank">2011 AIA Honor Award</a>.

The open living room gets daylight from both sides.

Site plan and home orientation with respect to the beach.

Floorplan of the North Beach Residence.