Update: Inaugural Midwest Project Nears Completion
The arrival of overcast skies that appear ready to burst with snow, combined with the departure of painters from the site, is a clear sign that GO Logic’s first-ever project in Michigan is nearing completion. Its location isn’t the only unique aspect of this project as the design itself also represents something of a departure from the norm that has been established with other recent GO Logic projects. The house (which is on target to be Passive House certified in 2013), for example, includes a full basement and exterior walls formed in traditional Larsen Truss fashion. While neither element has commonly found its way into other recent projects, both were incorporated here to meet the homeowners’ program requirements and the preferred construction practices of the local builder (himself a Passive House professional) and were carefully detailed to ensure that they fully meet the exemplary thermal performance and air-tightness values required by the Passive House standard. In contrast to these notable exceptions however, there is much that is familiar in the project. To some extent, the genesis of the design may be traced directly back to the GO Home in Belfast, Maine, a project from which the owners drew much of their inspiration and to which the new house bears some resemblance. Additionally, a concrete topping slab under the finished wood floors, provides thermal mass, serving the equivalent temperature-stabilizing function of the slab on grade at the GO Home and numerous other recent projects. And the windows are familiar, triple-paned German models, specified again here for their extraordinary insulating properties and glass that permits an optimal amount of solar heat gain to help offset a significant portion of the home’s winter heating load. In this case, the generous expanse of glass included for this purpose has the additional benefit of providing serene views to the gentle hills that surround the home and give the countryside in which it is situated, just an hour or so outside Detroit, so much of its character 
