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PUBLICATIONS (bOOKS)
Some of our most recent book inclusions:
Title:
Dream
Homes of Northern California (Marin County), pg. 56.
Publisher: Panache Prtners, LLC.
Location: Dallas, TX, USA.
We have ten pages illustrating this amazing
craftsman style home.
Title: Houses of Los Cabos (fourth edition), pg.
130.
Publisher: Amaroma Ediciones
Location: Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.
We
have eight pages in this beautiful book of 18 mega pixel resolution and very
descriptive text.
Title:
Craftsman - Style Houses, pg. 64.
Publisher: Taunton
Press
Location: 63 South Main St., Newtown, CT., USA.
We
have six pages in this Craftsman Style Architecture book.
Title:
American Architecture, pg. 122.
Publisher: Hanover Publishing Co.
Location: Ashland, New York, USA.
We
have two pages in this hard bound book.
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
Solar
Age, Architectural Record, Process Architecture, Better Homes & Gardens, House
Beautiful, Garden Ideas, Fine Home Building, Building Ideas, Profiles, Home,
Building A Home.
From Marin Designer Showcase
Publication:
Our thanks to M. Dean Jones, architect, whose
vision and design translated ideas into reality in 1986 and again in the 1999
update, especially with the redesign of the master baths and addition of the
indoor spa.
M & M
San Rafael, CA
CIVIC INVOLVEMENT (EDUCATION)
Founding
member and Chairman,
Mill
Valley Community Center
Chairman;
Southern Marin, Richardson's Bay Residential, Design Review Board.
Guest
Lecturer; San Francisco State University, College of Marin, Environmental Forum,
Golden State Energy Center, Rotary, North Star at Tahoe, Solar Energy Festival.
Solar Energy Means Self -
Sufficiency
Tiburon, Calif., Dec. 00 --
California - based architect M. Dean Jones expects a lot out of a house -- and
he gets it. Jones has proved that a 4,500 - square - foot home can use as
little energy as a home of 1,500 square feet. He believes a $30 per season
energy bill should be about par.
"I design my homes to be self
sufficient," Jones says. "I have a belief that we can live on this planet
without taking from it when there is an abundance of free energy."
Jones' "free - energy" comes from
the sun, which he says is predictable, consistent and unlimited. His
homes, there, consistent and unlimited. His homes, therefore, are oriented
to the sun and designed to work with the environment. Where possible, he
prefers to use natural building materials, even without finish, if appropriate.
"Basically, I am adopting the
Indian philosophy of living lightly on the earth, using the sun to warm and the
earth to cool. We can do it, and people are amazed at how easy it is.
It requires very little work to orient a home so that it takes advantage of the
free sun's heat."
Jones says he has always been
conscious of the environment and natural resources. When he began
designing houses professionally, he decided to put his environmental concerns
and creativity to use. He since has become a pioneer in the passive solar
home market and continues to develop new technology to make homes self -
sufficient.
One of Jones' first applications
was the "direct gain" method of using the sunlight to heat. Homes designed
to use this method allow sunlight to heat interior mass (heat - absorbing
material) through south - facing glass, glass walls, French doors or roof glass.
The heat of the day is stored in interior mass and re-radiated to the interior
spaces during the course of the evening.
Although not as common as the
"direct gain" method of heating a home, Jones also uses "indirect gain" to heat
interior mass. Mass for heat storage can be located in the interior of the
home in a crawl space or closet, or it can be the finishing materials for
interior rooms, such as plaster used as thin mass.
Heated air is moved by natural
conviction or moves from the warmer sun spaces to interior storage areas,
consisting of additional mass.
As the solar - heated air moves
over or through the heat - storage mass, the heat is given up to the heat -
absorbing material for retention and/or re-radiation.
Jones' houses that incorporate
internal mass also feature solariums and solar - heated rooms, both of which
help collect warm air from outside for storage in the interior.
"Given adequate design, a home can
also store internal heat generated from renewable resources such as the heat
from a wood burning stove," Jones said.
Jones also designs his homes to be
cooled by natural convection. '"It is much more economical to cool an
interior space with cooleth from the earth or cooler air from a shaded north
side of the structure, than to use nuclear power to create electricity to run an
air - conditioning system," he said.
"One advantage of using natural
heating and cooling is that it is subtle and soft. People aren't even
aware of it except when they realize how low their energy bill is."
Jones designs single homes or
entire communities, and he also "solarizes" existing homes. He even has
gone as far as tearing down a house and starting over at his client's request to
"build it right."
Jones is involved with the Marin
Environmental Forum, Golden - Gate Energy Center and other civic groups, where
he shares his knowledge and innovations with others. He also does
consulting work with other architects who often come to share his convictions
about building in harmony with the environment.
"We have a responsibility to this
planet and our environment," he said. "I feel we must start using
less fossil fuels or nuclear power to heat our homes, when the unlimited energy
from the sun will do a good job if we consider it in our designs.
"A solar home is no longer
something in the future, nor does it need to look experimental," he continued.
"Solar self - sufficient design is an aesthetic reality now."
To see Jones' work is to see the
truth of his statement.
WHAT OUR CLIENT'S AND FRIENDS SAY ABOUT US
Look at these lucky boys enjoying their new
house. What a wonderful contribution to their lives you have given. Thank
you!
Love, B & J
Portola Valley, CA
Thanks
so much for being part of the "housewarming" and more importantly creating the
place to be such a thing of beauty.
M.K.
Los Cabos MX
We
are glad the house is finished and yet sad the whole process is ended.
Watching the house grow from plans to reality was
a most exciting and satisfying experience and something we still find hard to
believe we did. You were a prime mover in the entire program and without
your pushing we would never have gone ahead and completed the whole thing.
Knowing you and Mike and Lloyd and working with
all of you has been rewarding for us. Other people's tales of
dissatisfaction with architects and contractors is something we find hard to
understand. All of you did exactly what you agreed to do or explained why
you could not.
The house is right for the setting and right for
us. We still feel that the house is in some sense yours. If you and
your family would use it now and then, it would please us. We can't think
of anyone we would rather have staying there.
Stay in touch, M & B
Mendocino, CA
We
are very pleased.
Very Truly yours, J & M
San Geromino, CA
As
you were probably aware yesterday. Bob and I are astounded at what has
been achieved in terms of space use and light and views in the house in
Mendocino.
Looking at plans on paper is one thing. To
see them take form is another. It is an experience we have never had
before and we are both marveling at it.
That basic 20' by 28' house is a real creation as
much as any painting or musical composition and we are both aware of this.
We really appreciate what you have achieved.
Neither of us thinks that paying architect's
fee's is foolish. We just both look at each other once in awhile and think
we are presumptuous on our income to be building a house at all.
Our concerns with money are not based on any idea
that what we are getting is not worth it. We just both know the sum that
we have saved and planned for the project and as the end nears, wonder if we'll
make it.
I guess this all leads to the lights. We
trust your judgment.
T & B
Mendocino, CA
Dear
Dean,
Many thanks for all your wonderful help.
We're getting close to the completion party.
Till then, our sincere thanks.
Very Truly yours, B.G.
San Rafael, CA
Dear
Dean,
After spending a quit weekend at home, just
roaming around my new home, I keep finding myself enjoying all the little
touches of comfort and pleasure your mind has created.
I truly marvel at your ability to understand my
taste, style and personality and translate those into a final composition.
Even though it is your creation, it seems as if the house was made for me.
It suits me well!
Thank you for your thoughtfulness and keen
perception. Thank you for my truly beautiful, comfortable and luxurious
house.
Warmest Regards, N.L.
San Rafael, CA
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