GROUND BREAKING

Architect Donald Jasinski owned the 1-acre lot on a slope looking out on the White Mountains in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, for 21 years before he decided to build a year-round house on the property. The site, which he had purchased in 1971, would have posed a challenge for conventional construction. But for the earth-sheltered design that Jasinski had in mind, it was nearly ideal.

Jasinski’s firm, Jasinski Architects International, has five earth-sheltered buildings in its portfolio, which also boasts more than 30 hotel projects around the United States and Ireland, including additions and renovations to the Omni Parker House in Boston.

As construction for his New Hampshire house began in 1992, the 7,500-square-foot, five-level structure was the talk of the town. Burrowed comfortably into the hillside and nearly hidden from view, the house has stood the test of time. It is a demure neighbor to the large new houses that have popped up amid the Victorian camps built by wealthy families that came to this resort town – now known more for its winter recreational offerings – to escape the summer heat.

For Jasinski, the advantages of an earth-sheltered home are obvious. “Above all, there can be at least a 50 percent saving on heating,” he says. “The entire back of the house is embedded in the hill, and in summer, the earth absorbs the sun’s heat and the house gets the benefit from that in winter. It is a completely passive system that keeps the house at an average temperature of 65 degrees year-round.” There is no need for air conditioning in the warm months, and a propane-fired furnace provides supplemental radiant heat in winter.

Since earth and concrete are the main building components, Jasinski says, “construction costs can be less than for a comparable-size ordinary dwelling. And maintenance costs are at a minimum, as are fire and storm insurance rates.”

More important, says Jasinski, “the earth-sheltered house gives humans the opportunity to avoid the rectangular boxes we call home.” In fact, he designed his house with nary a straight line. “I abhor the rectangular for living, because it is not congenial to our bodies. We are shaped in compound curves, and we move in a similar manner. Architecturally, rounded forms add strength and beauty to our classical buildings as well as our modern.”

In his own house, domed ceilings, curving walls, and rounded columns create the human-centered architecture he favors. He points out that domed structures built by the ancient Romans, who used materials that were inferior by today’s standards, are still standing.

The domes in his mountain retreat have just a 3½-inch concrete-reinforced shell. It is the shape that provides the strength, he explains. When pressure is applied to a flat roof, it tends to bend and break, whereas a dome shape under pressure compresses onto itself, making it stronger. “Compare it to an eggshell that gets strength from its oval shape,” he says.

“Steel-reinforcing rods form the skeletal structure for the walls and columns that curve to make the roof,” Jasinski explains, “then steel mesh is attached to the steel-rod openwork. That mesh is coated with a thin layer of concrete, which becomes the form for the structural materials – again concrete. Then comes the waterproofing applied to exterior surfaces, which will be earth-covered at an average of 3 feet.”

But earth-covered does not mean dark and dank. The street entrance, which is on the structure’s fourth level, is an elegant wall of glass arranged in eight columned sections. It opens to a foyer, which Jasinski calls the tempietto, or “little temple.” Above it, a dome at the top of the house affords a 360-degree view – and the sensation that this is the top of the world. “That’s why children love it for a guest room,” says Jasinski.

The third level – with its study, office, library, and guest quarters – can be reached via thickly carpeted stairs or an elevator, whose rounded glass side provides a view of the brilliantly colored contemporary paintings collected along the outer wall of the staircase.

The living room, kitchen, dining area, master bedroom, and media room are one floor below. Furnishings are a pleasing mix of period and modern pieces, some of which, such as the Chesterfield-style sofas, were designed by Jasinski. Others are the classic work of modern architects such as Marcel Breuer and Eero Saarinen. A life-size cast of Myron’s Discobolus along with numerous busts of classical figures add to the continental flavor.

Still, though the eye is drawn to the extraordinary interior, it is the exterior views that captivate. In total, there are 17 glass doors that open to terraces on four levels. In between the doors, walls are made of tempered glass set at angles and sealed with silicone in a zigzag pattern that creates strength. “This avoids using heavy-looking metal bars to hold the glass,” says Jasinski.

In every season, sunrises and sunsets flood the earth-sheltered house with celestial colors no artist’s brush can capture. Says Jasinski: “I wanted the sense of freedom that comes from watching our natural environment – which never honored the rectangle.”