photography: Paul Whicheloe
For a cozy living room, architect George Holback covered one wall in the milking room with matching local stone to get in a Rumford fireplace. |
She found her crusader in Baltimore architect George Holback of Cho Benn Holback and Associates. His green expertise was limited to grad school studies of solar panel technology, but he and assistant Andrea Rhinehart got Cassandra's attention with their enthusiasm. "They produced lists of every material or system we might want to use for its impact from cradle to grave on the environment," she recalls. For a potential roof, she researched Phragmites australis grass, an invasive species on Maryland's Eastern Shore. "We actually found an English thatcher working locally," says George, "but the cost and maintenance of the roof were prohibitive." A standing-seam Galvalume won out because it's made from recycled metal, which is amazingly affordable and doesn't leach into the soil.
photography: Paul Whicheloe
Cassandra has no AC or window screens and leaves the doors open so often that a wren tries every spring to build a nest in the hallway. Her Dutch door is a classic cottage icon. |
The three-story barn's state of disrepair and the creation of a new studio residence meant additional work beyond green design amendments. Many beams and the ground contact structure were water damaged. The walls bulged. But necessary corrections—for example, a new "skin" to enclose the barn's exterior lead paint—gave Cassandra opportunities. She discovered paint without formaldehyde (or its precursors) from American Formulating & Manufacturing. "It's a product that's caught on now," she says. HardiePlank, the barn's new cement and wood composite "skin" siding, is now mainstream. For insulation behind the irregular framing, George had cellulose, a chopped recycled paper, sprayed in. The Clivus Multrum composting toilet fascinated the county building inspectors when they reviewed Cassandra's plans. "They'd never seen one and insisted on my installing a superfluous septic field in case it ever failed." Her philosophy kept her spirits—and standards—up. "I told myself to be as extreme and meticulous as possible because some compromise is inevitable."Fashioning the building systems around renewable sources was mandatory for Cassandra. A full photovoltaic solar system on the roof feeds electricity to a battery bank. She chose direct over alternate current "because there is no waste or microwave emission that would occur from a conversion." She uses energy-efficient fluorescent bulbs but owns a converter for a few necessary pumps. The water-based solar heating system on the roof, which circulates to in-floor radiant heat, and a Napoleon woodstove and Rumford fireplace keep the house cozy. "If I get chilly, I just take a hot bath!" she says. The house sounds hard-core, but, as student groups and other guests today quickly discover, it's just a structure that works hard to make the most of its environment. That give-and-take relationship pays off in more ways than reduced electricity bills. "I'm more sensitive to my surroundings now, especially to the weather, which tells me every morning how to use the house," she says. Honoring her promise to preserve the farm and live lightly on the land, Cassandra couldn't be happier—or greener. | 
