Ecologue.com

Photo by J.K. Lawrence / jklawrencephoto.com

By Robyn Griggs Lawrence

It’s extraordinary! And while not everyone has the ability or desire to devote five years to building a 6,500-square-foot home, this self-sufficient family haven in Sagle, Idaho, proves that size and money don’t have to overshadow conscience and soul.

When artist and musician Andrea Lyman-Pinchera and her late husband, wilderness artist Stephen Lyman, decided to construct their dream home on 104 acres in 1988, green building was not the norm. “Because we were both very active environmentally, we really wanted to create a house that was gentle on the land, environmentally and socially responsible,’’ Andrea says. “It was early in the green movement—and what we found initially was discouraging. It was a challenge just to locate alternative building materials, and they were almost always very expensive. But we were really able to spend a lot of our money on the house, so we made a commitment to use it for our health and the earth’s health, even though we knew it would be a relatively pioneering effort.’’

An architect experienced with green building techniques could not be located, so Andrea and Stephen did a large portion of the design and materials specification themselves. They enlisted a local architect to assist in helping to pull together the home’s various features: two art studios, five bedrooms, four and a half baths, two root cellars (wet and dry), a garden room, a mechanical and battery room, and a sky room for watching lightning storms. “We tried to keep down the size, but the house just kept getting bigger, taking on a life of its own,’’ Andrea says.

A foam-core model of the home was constructed and carried to the top of a meadow at different times of day throughout the seasons. It was turned to catch the light, finding a spot where sun would spill into the kitchen and where the front windows would best utilize the strong southern rays. They believed the land would guide them in siting the house, pond, gardens, and road leading to them. “We’ve always felt that our house and the land it sits on is far more than where we live—it’s something we have a relationship with,’’ Andrea explains. “Everybody who comes out here has found these qualities of healing—more than physical beauty, it’s a deep beauty, a manifestation of what’s going on energetically.’’

Before this huge endeavor was complete, the home demanded a name. Anavo, the Celtic word for harmony, stood out as the embodiment of the values Andrea and Stephen sought to accomplish. “In a word, it’s how we want everything to be here—not only for ourselves, but also so we can share with other people and prove it can be done.’’

Although their builder, hired in May 1992, was intrigued by the concept of green building, he had no experience in it. “Oh, those Lymans’’ was often a refrain among the crew who spent five years on a project that required custom fitting jams for salvaged doors, installing Hardiplank siding, crafting cabinetry out of antique heart pine. “By and large, most of the workers on this house were very interested in and willing to work with all of the alternative things,’’ Andrea reports. “And early on, when builders started to say ‘it can’t be done,’ I said, ‘Don’t ever, ever tell me it can’t be done.’ I feel like if I can think it up, it can be done.”

The Lymans were able to utilize artisans who reside around Sagle and Sandpoint, Idaho, drawn there by the clean air and water of Lake Pend Oreille, and the progressive community. “We felt so blessed, so fortunate to have so many local people who could do anything you could dream up,’’ says Andrea, whose own vision of stair balustrades carved into wood nymphs became possible under a local craftsman’s chisel. Likewise, Stephen’s design for an elaborate steel porch railing was welded locally.

“My criteria, besides it being really green, was that it had to be really beautiful and really well done,’’ Andrea says. “Sometimes I’d make a request and the crew would say okay, but they’d roll their eyes.’’

Andrea’s requests included devoted workers, who were also asked to minimize waste. She specified that no toxic plastics, foams, or vinyl enter her home; the paints and stains used are all plant-based, and carpets are non-chemically treated wool with recycled fiber padding. The wood floors, trim, and much of the cabinetry were constructed from salvaged heart pine or pine lumber milled from trees removed on site.

Anavo was also the first solar house of its size in the area. The Lymans utilized forty-eight Siemens photovoltaic panels (six eight-panel sections) on the roof of a detached greenhouse and garden shed just east of the house. The panels charge a twenty-four volt battery system that powers energy-saving appliances including a Sunfrost refrigerator. A custom-designed masonry heater warms the house, backed up by propane-generated radiant floor heat and, in one of the studios, a Tulikivi soapstone modular masonry heater. Water from a developed spring gravity-fed to the house is heated using Thermomax solar hot water tubes.

Nurturing Environment

Four years into the home’s construction, Stephen died in an accident. While that changed the construction schedule for a few months, Andrea remained faithful to fulfilling the couple’s mission. She and her two sons, Muir and Jarré, moved into the home in April 1997. Now married to teacher and artist Michael Pinchera, Andrea has no regrets.

“The triumphs are the daily joys of living in exquisite beauty, in a health- and soul-nurturing environment, in having a house that’s an inspiration to everyone who comes here,’’ she says. “This whole land really has a life—as an entity and a being. It has really grounded us. We feel like we’re contributing to something far greater than just a house.’’

Provided by Natural Home - http://www.naturalhomemagazine.com

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