April 11, 2023
Life at Cold Brook Farm has been everything the proprietors, Jason and Deborah, dreamed it could be, although the first year will always be a year to remember.
November 6, 2021
Fall is one of the prettiest times of year in New Jersey, but changing leaves, harvest moons, and chilly weather remind us that colder days are ahead. Like all homeowners, Deborah and Jason D. had to settle on the type of insulation material for Cold Brook Farm. However, as with so many construction decisions around the zero-energy home, the choice of insulation—seemingly pedestrian—took an unexpected turn.
March 10, 2021
During the numerous conversations we had about what we wanted from this next chapter of our lives, when it came to our role as landowners, we had very specific things in mind. We wanted to be good stewards. We knew our role would be a temporary one; the land would remain long after we were gone and we wanted to protect it and improve its health—enhance its biodiversity, revitalize its soil, and remove the invasive plants and plant native ones. But, we also planned to build a house.
January 5, 2021
Wickedly cold winters, summer days with temperatures that reach into the 90s, and large swings in humidity have provided the perfect backdrop over the course of a century for the evolution of an innovative, premium window product that is now part of the building envelope for Cold Brook Farm.
July 14, 2020
As I sketched out a new rendering of the homestead, lifestyle and convenience certainly remained factors, but were no longer the primary drivers of the design. The priorities of the passive house would be guided by sustainability, energy-efficiency and the home’s integration with the land surrounding it.