Since we moved in we are experiencing the surprising dynamics of our Oasis Hybrid Home and are enjoying its practical, comfortable and esthetic components enhancing the quality of life into holistic living.

        The ambiance of the house, its beauty and its harmonious  influence flowing from the octagonal core design with its high ceiling architecture are allowing for a multi dimensional experience that is soul stirring.

         The warm embrace of the atrium brings solar heat and nature’s vitamins into our lives. In short one has to experience the Oasis Hybrid Home to really capture its nurturing aspects.

        The principles applied here are to be geared towards mass application in the house building industry and to promote environmentally responsible, healthy, and comfortable independent off the grid living.

(A seamless grid back-up system is provided for.)

Some of the specifications applied are:

• Superior insulation (Walls R-45, Roof R-52.)
  
  
• Superior structural strength through double exterior wall and roof connected bracing
  
  
• Passive solar heat through thermal mass and domestic warm water heat reclamation. (Atrium/greenhouse)
  
  
• Active solar heat through radiant floor heat generated by an evacuated tube solar collector mounted on the roof.
  
  
• Passive cooling through thermal mass ( below grade rainwater collection tanks)
  
  
• Off the grid electricity by proven technology (solar and wind.)
  
  
• Rainwater catchments for all domestic water by innovative roof/gutter design allowing snow and ice to be solar heated/melted and collected (water storage capacity to be determined by annual precipitation typical for a particular location). This amount of storage also doubles for a firefighting first response.
  
  
• Gray water recycles through atrium planter, reclaiming water and heat used for domestic purposes, to then nourish plants and finally flush toilets.
  
  
• Water and energy saving features are standard within the house: dual flush toilets, a continuous domestic warm water circulating loop (for the purpose of having instant warm water at each fixture), an over the kitchen sink dish drying cabinet,
  
  
• Featured Greenhouse (atrium) offering: air filtration, gray water filtration, the sun’s warmth, green vitamins, the fragrance and beauty of plants year round, passive heating through its connection with the living space, yet with the ability to control temperature through ventilation and thermal mass.
  
  
• Innovative air stratification system distributing and balancing the warm or cool air flow.
  

        The hub of activity in the house is defined by the octagonal shaped core. The octagon consists of three levels. The basement which has above it the main floor containing the living room and kitchen and then the upper floor, which provides one bedroom and a full bath and the cathedral space to the living room. Around this octagon hub are single story spaces, containing the back and front entries, a laundry room, two bedrooms, a dining room, a full bath, a powder room and the atrium.

         The Octagon Atrium surround provides an architectural benefit to the quality of the home. Originally designed with a practical purpose in mind to follow the arc of the sun and acting as a passive solar heat generator, it also enhances the esthetic value and ambiance of the house. In addition to the compact design, the house has an expansive and multi dimensional feel to it, because of the cathedral ceiling and the connection to the “outdoors” provided by the huge open glass doors into the atrium.

Oasis Hybrid Home Specs and Information

This is a passive solar design, with a wall of mostly glass along the South-East, South, and South-West walls (similar to the lean-to green house).

We put great emphasis on providing maximum mass to absorb and hold the solar heat. Such as 3 inch dense concrete floors, a Finish style  masonry wood stove in the center of the octagon shaped portion of the building.

We designed this building to not need any heat of any kind year around, but are also realizing that we can not rely on the sun alone, when nobody is home to feed the fire during a cold week!

The octagon portion of the house has a basement, without windows, which also act as a thermal heat/ cool sink. It is surrounded by dirt and does not have an exterior wall any closer to the elements then 8 feet and 6 inches.

Around this octagon basement we wrapped a 2.5 inch x 300 feet of poly pipe as an “earth loop”, which emits excess heat from the solar hot water panel to the soil underneath the one story crawlspace dirt during the warm summer month. This excess heat will then slowly find its way out into the structure above, during the colder month, helping to passively keep the house at a more even temperature year around.

The basement walls are concrete poured in foam block forms that provide a total of 5 inch of foam insulation. The basement floor has not been insulated, since it is 9 feet below grade, and we wanted to take advantage of that constant temperature mother earth provides.

Besides the ground floor, which you can see on the floor plan, there is a second story, just over the north half of the octagon.

The south half of the octagon is open from the ground floor to the vaulted roof ceiling. The ceiling height here is 17 feet along the wall bordering the green house and 22 feet around the masonry fireplace. Estimated weight would be around 10.000 lbs.

The octagon roof is 16 inches thick and contains 1 inch of urethane spray-in insulation, 13 inch fiberglass batts.

In the loft bedroom and bath room the walls are 8 feet tall and the ceilings are flat with 16 inches of blown-in insulation.

The “ wings ”  have 8 feet flat ceilings. The walls consist of two separate 2x4 walls, with a 5 inch space between them to create a 12 inch wall from face of stud to face of stud.

These wall cavities are filled with fiberglass or cellulose insulation.
Half inch sheathing will go on the outside, then 2 feet of rigid insulation and a thin layer of stucco to cover it all. All inside surfaces of the exterior walls will have a vapor barrier under 0.5 inch drywall.

Underneath the west side wing is a 4 foot crawl space. The front entry and laundry room has concrete walls done with the same foam block as the octagon basement.

Around the entire perimeter of the building we installed horizontally, a four foot wide by two inch thick styrofoam sheet to increase the thermal influence of the solar heated home.

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