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concepts · updated 2026-08-01

Baer AIA passive solar slideshow

confidence: medium volatility: cold verified: 2026-08-01fresh

A presentation by Steve Baer to the Albuquerque Chapter of the AIA on January 15, 2009, titled "Some Passive Solar Buildings with a Focus on Projects in New Mexico." The 23 MB PDF is a slide deck with

A presentation by Steve Baer to the Albuquerque Chapter of the AIA on January 15, 2009, titled “Some Passive Solar Buildings with a Focus on Projects in New Mexico.” The 23 MB PDF is a slide deck with photographs, diagrams, and a written summary.

The individual slide pages (pages 4–45, matching the deck’s own image numbering) are also archived as separate page scans alongside this record in raw/articles/ — 2009-01-15-baer-passive-solar-buildings-aia-04.png through -45.png — for readers who want a specific photo or diagram without opening the full 23 MB PDF. Per the deck’s credits, images 3–15 are reproduced from A Survey of Passive Solar Buildings (AIA Research Corporation, 1976), each shown as a full survey data sheet with climatic data, building description, solar system, cooling techniques, and performance evaluation; the remaining photos and drawings are by Zomeworks staff.

Summary argument

Baer argues that passive solar design comes in waves — championed by House Beautiful in the 1940s, then the 1970s boom — and that each wave recedes when fossil fuel interests reassert themselves. He notes that the tools available in 2009 are better than those of 30 years prior:

  • Steel drums leaked; plastic drums don’t.
  • Black paint was the only absorber; selective surfaces are now available.
  • R-2 windows were the best; R-4+ windows exist now.
  • Shutters were hard to make; now they’re everywhere.
  • Temperature measurement required thermocouples; infrared scanners are cheap.

His conclusion: “Let us hope we can begin a new epidemic of passive design. Surely the passive solar virus has mutated and the epidemic will reach larger populations.”

Projects shown

The slideshow surveys the New Mexico passive solar canon:

ProjectDesignerLocationYearKey feature
Sunscoop (David Wright)David WrightSanta Fe1974Direct gain
Ghost Ranch (Sun Dwelling)Peter Van DresserAbiquiu—Direct gain and Trombe wall
Baer ZomeSteve BaerCorrales1971Drum wall, reflector/shades
Benedictine MonasteryBaer / ZomeworksPecos1978Drum wall, clerestory
Skytherm (Harold Hay)Hay / Edminster / HaggardAtascadero, CA1973Roof pond
Hammond HouseJonathon Hammond / Living SystemsWinters, CA1975Roof pond, reflector panels
Monte Vista SchoolDave Harrison / ZomeworksAlbuquerque1973Greenhouse with Beadwall glazing
Paul Davis HousePaul Davis / BaerCorrales1972Air-loop rock storage
NM State Office BuildingWilliam MingenbachTaos1976Roof monitors: storage drums, motorized insulating shutters
Baer Zome ClusterSteve BaerCorrales1972Drum walls, reflector/shades
Frank’s HouseDavid HarrisonPlacitas1980Beadwall
Skylid insulated louversZomeworks—1973Sun-responsive skylight louvers
Mike Elliston house——c.1980Drum doors (plastic barrels, 1991)
Fountain Valley SchoolAlfred von Bachmayr—1979Mirrored Sunbender reflector/shades
Sunbender reflector/shadesZomeworksAlbuquerque1988–Skylight reflectors: summer shade, winter gain
Andy ShackZomeworksAlbuquerque1988–Unglazed Skymats, test building
Bruce Davis StudioBruce Davis / ZomeworksAlbuquerque2004Double Play Skymats cooling
Double Play radiator/absorberZomeworksAlbuquerque2005Roof-mounted demonstration unit
Dave House NorthZomeworksAlbuquerque2008–2009Double Play system, ceiling louvers
Sun Dog / Sun ShelfZomeworksAlbuquerque—Reflector daylighting devices

Two dating quirks inside the deck: the Benedictine Monastery slide title says 1978 while the embedded AIA survey card reads “Benedictine Monastery—1976,” and the Paul Davis House slide title places the house in Corrales while its survey card says Albuquerque. The slide-title values are used above.

Significance

The slideshow is the only source in the archive where Baer places his own work in the context of the broader New Mexico passive solar movement. It traces a lineage from Van Dresser and Wright through the Zome cluster to the Double Play systems of the 2000s. It also documents the Sunbender reflector/shade system and the Andy Shack test building in detail.

See also