When Earl Stein decided to permanently relocate from Park City to his favorite fishing spot on the upper Provo River, he brought his dream of being an architect with him, building a house befitting the rural landscape surrounding him.
Stein’s Woodland home is made from two converted grain silos and has received numerous awards for its innovative design and environmentally friendly features.
“I lived in Park City for 30 years but always went out to Woodland to fish,” Stein said. “When I decided to move out there, I drew half a dozen designs for a house and didn’t like any of them. Then I saw Hank Louis’s house, and in the backyard he had turned an old silo into an office and the light bulb just went off.”
Louis, an architect with Gigaplex Architects in Park City, worked with Stein to create a 1,800-square-foot home that features two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and numerous windows overlooking Stein’s favorite fishing spot.
“In the winter, the windows are set up for solar gain and the house is very insulated,” said Gigaplex architect Anjee Bradshaw. “In the winter, the upper deck shades some of the rooms and the grain silo has a roof hatch you can open to let the heat circulate out. There are even automatic drapes that come down in the winter to help insulate.”
Bradshaw said MSN.com featured Stein’s home as one of the top environmentally friendly homes in 2010.
“I designed my home to be green and efficient and I operate it to green and efficient,” said Stein, adding that his highest electric heating bill since living in the home has been $80.
The house has won two American Institute of Architects awards and Stein has seen his home featured in hundreds of blogs and magazines. But one of the accomplishments he is most proud of is teaching Google a new word.
“The house is called Monte-Silo. If you type in Montisilo or something along those lines, it will correct you and bring up my house,” he said. “The name Monte-Silo is in recognition of Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello, the first building to inspire me.”
Stein’s two daughters would disagree; they think the house’s proudest moment was being featured on the show MTV Cribs this season.
“It was on MTV’s dream house episode along with someone who built a castle,” Stein said. “They wouldn’t let me host the house tour, though. My daughters did it instead. They said I wasn’t their demographic.”
Bradshaw estimated Monte-Silo cost about $250 per square foot to build, totaling around $450,000.
“The house is far beyond my wildest dreams and I think has inspired a lot of others to build something creative and green,” Stein said.