Dick Henry. In 1975, Zomeworks published an illustrated book, Sunspots, written by Baer and illustrated by Criss-Cross; focusing on solar-design principles. One of Zomeworks' inventions was the now-expired patented Beadwall, which consists of two sheets of glass with small styrofoam beads blown in the space between them by an air pump at night to insulate the window areas of the building (the beads being removed by vacuum action in the morning). The design is somewhat similar to the drum wall. Baer’s approach has been to develop strategies and products that simplify rather than complicate; things that add to, rather than detract from, the self-sufficiency of a building and its occupants. The "Track Rack" solar tracker which Baer and Zomeworks staff developed is a metal-framed passive-solar dynamic mounting for photovoltaic (PV) modules. With an arrangement of cylinders, pistons, and tubing, the device uses the differential pressure and movement of entrapped liquid to enable gravity to turn the rack and follow the sun. Depending on heat and hydraulics, and without motors, gears, or computerized controls, the rack enables the PV module to face the sun ("sunflower-wise") for maximum efficiency. To fit into the developing solar energy industry, Zomeworks has designed and builds several Track Racks to fit all common photovoltaic modules. Another invention, the Skylight Tracker, has a dual purpose: it shades a skylight for indirect daytime lighting while making electricity from PV panels built into the shading slats. Besides designing, testing, and fabricating solar-energy equipment, Baer and his company have provided consulting services to architects. Baer's design work was included in the Contemporary Developments in Design Science exhibit at St. John the Divine Cathedral, New York City, in 1995. Baer's unconventional "zome" building-design approach, with its multi-faceted geometric lines, has been taken up by French builders in the Pyrenees. A 2004 book, Home Work edited by Lloyd Kahn, has a section featuring these buildings. While Zomeworks has been known mainly for exploring passive solar strategies and equipment, some of the equipment the company has developed more recently, for solar-driven space cooling, has used active-solar principles. Books Awards 2010 Global Award for Sustainable Architecture Notes References "The Plowboy Interview: Steve and Holly Baer", in The Mother Earth News, issue # 22 - July/August 1973 External links 20th-century American architects American inventors Modernist architects 20th-century American mathematicians 21st-century American mathematicians Solar building designers 1938 births Living people Amherst College alumni University of California,