Bow String Truss House
The Bowstring Truss House serves as a generic house for most climates. The horizontal bottom cord and convex top cord of a bowstring truss form a gently curved roof. The trusses are erected at standard intervals producing a non-articulated rectangle, which reduces the framing cost. The design incorporates a number of features to maximize passive solar gain. The house is elongated along its east-west axis, with glass on most of the south-facing wall. Concrete floors and twelve concrete columns, which are part of the support system for the trusses, increase the thermal mass of the house. Radiant heat in the floor and well-insulated double exterior walls add to the energy efficiency of the house.
