design

Passive solar design

Passive-Solar Design Experience

* Student of passive solar design since 1974.
* Student of Permaculture since 1988.
* Certificate, Permaculture Design, 1989.
* Associate Editor, Permaculture Drylands Journal, evolving it from a small, local newsletter into an international trade journal. Edited design articles by prominent Permaculture designers from 1989-92.
* Organized workshops for Permaculture designers in southern Arizona, and a Permaculture Design Course with Bill Mollison, from Australia, in 1989.
* Co-taught first workshop on building passive solar water heaters, 1989.
* Co-taught Permaculture workshop at Master Gardeners’ Conference, Phoenix, AZ, 1990.
* Awarded the “Permaculture Community Service Award” by Bill Mollison, 1990.
* Built my own off-the-grid, passive-solar home in 1994 and lived in it until 1995, and again from 2000-2006, experiencing its functionality.
* “Realtor of the Year” for “professionalism & ethics” in office of 45, 1999. Learned much about functional home design by working with hundreds of clients.
* Advanced real estate certificates, Colorado, including home construction, 1997-99.
* “Multi-million Dollar Producer,” building my business primarily on referrals from satisfied clients, 1999.
* Consulted with Development Center for Appropriate Technology.
* Taught solar cooking and basic passive solar design workshops, 2004-9.
* Asked to consult on small, passive-solar home designs, then was referred to nearly a dozen others in Cochise County, Arizona, from 2004 until I left in 2006. In 2008, in Silver City, NM, began consulting on small building designs again.
* Am creating a workshop entitled “Exploring the Psyche and Spirit of Home: a workshop to help you build, buy, decorate, renovate or find a new appreciation of your space.”

I offer consultations on an hourly basis, preferably before you have visited an architect or builder. I can help you become clear about your needs, so that when you visit the professional who’ll draw up your plans, you will save time and money and produce the best design, most suited to your needs.

Please use the contact page, or call me at 575-534-0123 to make an appointment. My contact page also contains a PayPal button for your convenience.

In 2004, a friend asked me to help her design a small, passive-solar home, which I did, leading to more and more requests.

My design work is informed by years of personal experience living in a passive-solar home, coupled with years of successful real estate consulting.

Below is a quick synopsis of my experience.