ABSTRACT
TAO House, a contemporary, prairie-style Passive House and net-zero energy building in Taos, New Mexico, represents a culmination of designer Jonah Stanford's experience in developing PHs for this high desert climate. The three-bedroom, two-bath TAO House exemplifies a model of sustainable living, situated as it is within an adult cohousing community that is just a 15-minute walk from Taos's historic plaza. Year-round Taos sees many sunny days, so maximizing solar gains in winter is fairly straightforward. Secondary architectural features, such as static awnings, shade additional percentages of the south-facing glazing. In designing these features, Stanford took full advantage of his 3-dimensional building information modeling (BIM) software to see what various shading strategies would achieve through the different seasons. The willingness of his clients to work with him on adjusting the building's features to optimize its performance contributed greatly to this project's architectural success.
