Mt Hartman Bay Estate
Hey all, I saw something fun recently…
http://www.mounthartmanbay.com/hotel-gallery.html (Click on the Mt Hartman Bay Estate gallery)
Obviously the tropical location and ocean views are fantastic, and I love the tropical color palette and organic feel.
But what caught my eye is the roof line with its dormers… Check out slides 3 and 5 in the web gallery. There are some big differences from our plan, particularly in the scale and proximity of the dormers, as well as the depth of the earth. But this is the first time I have seen this idea (dormers in a forward sloping earth sheltered roof) used anywhere else. Too many earth sheltered homes are only earth sheltered int he back and display a large flat wall, made even taller by the height of the parapet wall, on the front. Some try to improve the front elevation by hiding the parapet with a mansard roof. I much prefer the way the forward sloping earth puts the green roof on display.
Dormers on a forward sloping earth sheltered roof… Our dormers will be wider (a product of my roof structure) and more buried, but the idea is similar.
This is the inside of one of those dormers, very modern and spacious… My roof won’t be high enough to fit a second floor, but I might put in a balcony in the back of the playrooms with closets below ;^)
They also have planted terraces, which is something we will have on the north west side of our house. And the below picture shows a glimpse of the water management system on the top left.
Check the websites for other views of the terraces.
Sherri pointed out how they used prickly things instead of fences to keep people off the edge. This next pic shows that well.
The rest of the slides in the gallery are pretty nice also. You can get a closer look at the water management system on slide 6. Slides 15, 25 and 29 will make you want to earth shelter.
Check out the “Suites” gallery to see inside the rooms.
You can see the stiffening members in the dining room roof.
It is a hotel and you can stay in on of the “cave suites” for 259$/night… I am sure the helicopter and yacht are extra.
It also looks great lit up at night…