Page 152 - Solar Power in Building Design The Engineer's Complete Design Resource

122 SOLAR POWER GENERATION PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION

THE HEAVENLY RETREAT PROJECT

The following project is an example of excellence in solar heating and power genera-
tion design by owners Joel Goldblatt and Leslie Danzinger. The designer of the proj-
ect has taken maximum advantage of applying a sustainable energy systems design
and has blended the technology with the natural setting of the environment.
The Heavenly Retreat is a unique, celestially aligned, passive and active solar home,
with two built-in integrated greenhouses, located at a 9000-ft elevation in the northern
New Mexico Rockies. The heavily forested land is located on the northwest face of an
11,600-ft peak facing Wheeler Peak, the highest point in New Mexico and a landmark
in the southern Rockies. The property slopes toward the northwest, set amid many tall
pines and fir trees. The south side of the property opens to a large garden with a solar
calendar that marks the sunrises and sunsets throughout the year within a meditation
circle and seating area. Figures 5.3 and 5.4 show the external and the internal views of
a residential solar panel installation.
The designer established the passive solar design by first visiting the natural,
forested area many times over a 3-year period, from 1985 to 1988, to measure and
observe the motions and arc of the sun and moon, as well as to establish celestial car-
dinal points to the north and south. The design aligns many rooms and exterior walls
toward Polaris in the north, and thus establishes the solar south. Many rooms have
markers that cast shadows along the floors to show when the sun is at the solar south
position, thus indicating the daily time of local solar noon and creating a silent rhythm
within the living spaces.

Figure 5.3 The Heavenly Retreat project (exterior view). Photo courtesy
of Mr. Joel Goldblatt, New Mexico, United States.