Introduction

Hi All,

My wife and I recently moved from Vermont to Costa Rica and will begin building our new home on lot #61 in Tierra Pacifica.

Our thought is to share this process with you through a bi-weekly blog update from an owner’s perspective. We have carefully chosen an experienced, creative, and respected team….

We chose Ileana and Javier from Ircarqui Arquitectos Consultores to help refine our design concepts.

We chose Doug Stern and Steve McKnight as builders to keep us grounded in our budget but not lose sight of the dream.

Lastly, we will be working with Stephen from SwissSol to help us initially design a solar hot water and photovoltaic system. Our thought is to plan for them in the design process and plug them in at later time when it fits our budget.

Our plan is to create a simple 2200 sq ft tropical home that blends indoor and outdoor spaces and incorporates as many “green” and “sustainable” ideas possible. Part of our plan is to continue our sustainability theme into the garden for food production and an edible landscape design much like we did at our Vermont homestead (See CountrySide Magazine Sept/Oct.2009).

We began this process several years ago and have visited many beautiful homes in Tierra Pacifica and the surrounding area. We listened carefully, took many notes, and are very grateful for all the folks that shared their time and wisdom. We believe with this accumulated information as well as the experience and expertise of our team the result will be a union of form and function…. our home.

Last week the excavator came and we sketched in the circular driveway and created a building pad. Breaking ground is a wonderful feeling after so much dreaming. After roughly drawing out our design plan on the ground we spent time in the space watching the movement of the sun, manipulating the orientation to capture local views, and feeling the flow of our design. There is a big difference between seeing it on a piece of paper and walking it on the ground. In the final analysis we made several small design changes that will benefit the final outcome.

More to come………

John