The Bog House, Sharon, Connecticut

I enjoyed reading about the Bog House in the July/August 2007 issue of Dwell. Located in Sharon, Connecticut and designed by New York City-based architect Lynn Gaffney as her and her husband’s weekend home, the 2,000 square foot house is furnished entirely with pieces from Ebay. Gaffney, who is principal of Lynn Gaffney Architect (lga) in New York, “prefers to design in an agricultural vernacular merged with sustainable elements,” according to Dwell. The house sits on 8.5 acres about two hours north of Manhattan, where the couple resides, and its backyard sits adjacent to wetlands (hence the name).

One of the Bog House’s most prominent sustainable features is the shell of structural insulated panels (“SIPs”) that form its walls and roof. (SIPs are prefabricated and cut to specification, eliminating waste and erected quickly and efficiently once on site). Gaffney engaged green contractor David Jones, who was able to construct the shell flush to the roof with SIPs, thus maintaining an extremely tight building envelope. In order to keep the air fresh, an energy recovery ventilator sits inside the house and is connected to the exterior via two ducts, one of which pulls fresh air in while the other expels air out. Other green design elements include radiant heating, bamboo and concrete floors, and fluorescent lighting. Landscape designer Phantom Gardner installed local vegetation that requires no irrigation, as well as buffalo grass, which only grows to a maximum height of six inches (and won’t ever need a mow). Images of the house are via Dwell.

• Leave it to Beavers (Dwell)
• Lynn Gaffney