Longhouse Dreams of Colleen Jollie
Brand X Design & Construction
Colleen approached building her own home from her experience of having built the Longhouse at the Evergreen State College with its rich tradition of Northwest Native architecture.
She built on land she had been saving for 30 years, providing a strong sense of place, she wanted her home to be rooted in the site. She was inspired by the way a mushroom simply rises out of the forest floor after the rain. She hired Native American architect, Byron Barnes, to start there and he created the most efficient sun-harvesting shape in architecture, the longhouse-style shed roof structure with the high wall of windows facing south. Her Longhouse Dream Home was shaped from Rastra Blocks, a very modern and energy efficient material, rather than taking trees from our forests. Colleen will describe her own exploration of the material, to enlightening the architect, the builder, the permitting agency, bankers and insurance providers. Blazing the trail, every step was a learning experience along the critical path from dream to reality.
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