Last month SunRay wanted me to come see his latest creation up near Fort Bragg (Mendocino coast), but I couldn’t get away.
SunRay is not easy to get ahold of. He doesn’t exactly have a smartphone that’s on all the time. But once in a while he’ll call. This call a week ago was fading in and out, but he was describing the “Waterfall House,” just completed, and I caught snatches of what he was saying:
“It’s got a living foundation. It’s grounded into the earth…it ascends to the heavens. The living walls are clay and straw and they breathe. It’s got a living roof…mushrooms and flowers and moss…It’s 6-sided, there’s a timber frame…cut trees in a fairy ring…”
The phone disconnected…
Anyone else saying stuff like and I’d be thinking, yeah, right…But SunRay is the real thing. He’s a true nature spirit. His buildings are poetry. Hey New York Times, do a story on SunRay Kelley!
Photo inside Waterfall House by Camille Nordgren
Other photos of Waterfall House: https://shltr.net/An3mLK
What a beautiful creation! This Sun Ray building has a little Lloyd House in it – the windows, the light in the space. At least that's my gut. Question for every one – I live in New England – A harsher climate then No Cal. Would these building techniques work in my geography? I'm curious if the amount of glazing for example would be a concern. Also flat roofs in a tough climate.
SunRay has built at least one building in New York State (at Peaceweavers Community Farm, p. 73, Builders of the Pacific Coast). I would think you'd have to adjust the amount and type of glazing according to climate.