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The Hidden House by Standard

Originally commissioned to design a new home for a young family who had purchased the site, Standard found a way to maintain as much of the existing structure as possible, both minimizing code complications and the environmental footprint of the project. “Hidden House is the perfect example of how incorporating an existing structure can actually be the key to a successful new design,” explains Jeffrey Allsbrook, Standard Principal and Co-Founder.

Hidden House is located on a serene 7-acre site (in Glassell Park where the paved road ends at an old hand written sign marking the entrance to “Hidden Valley.”) The property, which can only be accessed via a half-mile unpaved road, offers expansive views of the city but seems a world away from Los Angeles at the same time. Anticipating city restrictions associated with building on a site far removed from the street, Standard opted to keep the structure of the existing two-bedroom house substantially intact. At the same time the architects designed an entirely new home around the original space.

Today, the original two-bedroom cottage is incorporated into the house as the living and dining room. Standard added a new kitchen, family room, office, garage, master bedroom suite and kids bedroom, essentially doubling the volume of the house from 1580 sf to 3500 sf. The new house is arranged around two main courtyards. The main living spaces open up onto the interior courtyard, while the exterior courtyard looks out over the city in the distance. The self-contained cubes are arranged around the original footprint in such a way that they make order of the disorder. At a later date, the family may add on additional bedrooms per their original plan.

Hidden House also features several sustainable materials and features, ranging from the redwood cladding, to reclaimed endgrain block wood, to the cork flooring in the office, and highly efficient appliances/equipment. The design allows for excellent cross ventilation and day lighting, reducing the need to run forced-air conditioning or heat or energy-consuming electrical lighting. The house is insulated with sustainable cotton and built to be solar-ready. The garden is planted with native landscape and vegetables.

“We’re thrilled with the way the house evolved,” adds Standard Principal and Co-Founder Silvia Kuhle. “Hidden House offers the ultimate country living experience in the middle of an urban environment.”

Visit the Standard Architecture/Design website – here.

Photos: ©Benny Chan/Fotoworks

Full description after the photos….

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House Quinta do Buraco III by Castanheira + Bastai Architects

The architect was allocated the third house in the Quinta do Buraco condominium, located in a plot of land that nobody wanted. The search for the right solution was both interesting and complex given the steeply sloping terrain, with an underground water-course and dense tree cover – where invasive species were crowding out the autochthonous species.The relationship with the client was excellent notwithstanding the constant refrain: There’s nothing worse than building your own home; it’s a sea of indecision, a world of doubts; everything becomes much easier when it’s for other people.

The volume containing the family’s communal areas lies perpendicular to the curves at that level, thus creating new landings and consolidating the existing landings. An office was placed over the garage area in order to make it possible to work at home on occasions and take advantage of this location.  The front room, located in the intersection between two bodies has a higher ceiling and establishes a connection between the private area and the communal area.

Due to the slope of the terrain, it was possible to create another ground floor room, for use by the family’s children and their friends.  In the site where a water-course was identified, there is now a three-quarter body. A bridge was also built, terminating in a terrace, thereby maintaining the original profile of the land and creating the possibility of encompassing the landscape below, both from the interior and the exterior. Next to the plot of land itself, the entire structure is made of concrete. From the concrete base upwards, all the pillars, beams, linings and door and window frames are made of wood, produced by excellent carpenters, who fortunately can still be found. Inside the building, the coverings are made of wood in the ceilings and door and window frames; glass; several painted, plastered areas and slate in all floor coverings.

The exterior covering is constituted by wonderful manufactured copper, glass and slate on the floor areas adjacent to the interior floors.  The colours are, and will remain, the natural colours of the respective materials. Work will now proceed in the exterior zone.

Visit the website of Castanheira + Bastai Architects – here.

Photography by: Fernando Guerra
FG + SG – Fotografia de Arquitectura
www.ultimasreportagens.com

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Ryan and Jason began working together designing this speculative/custom modern residence. Sean Meek, the owner of Logan’s Hammer: Building & Renovation, joined the team to construct the project, and helped turn an ambitious prospect into a reality.

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Site concept: This “Urban-infill” house is thoughtfully sited to the North portion of the lot in order to maximize the unobstructed views while creating a large, private yard to the South. The house takes advantage of the views and natural topography while creating easy access for both vehicles and pedestrians. It was important to create a foot-friendly access to the house, while maintaining ample off-street parking for both owners and visitors alike.

Design concept: This custom urban home works to bring a contemporary style of living together with hints of traditional Queen Anne aesthetics by incorporating a subtle blend of clean, modern lines with rich comfortable materials. The house is essentially two simple forms (a rectangle and a box) that are juxtaposed to take advantage of the dynamic views.

Visit the website of Ryan Rhodes Designs – here.

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Full description after the photos….

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The Banyan Treehouse by Rockefeller Partners Architects

Location: Nichols Canyon, Los Angeles, California
Completion Date: September 2009
Square Footage: 172 sf

Project Description
Located on a high eastern-facing ridge with views downtown Los Angeles in the distance, the Banyan Treehouse is a diminutive art studio and sanctuary.  Rockefeller Partners was originally commissioned by this client to design a house that was ultimately never realized.  Working together once again on this project, architect and client were able to revisit some of the design elements that they had originally explored in a different context, such as the striking butterfly roofline.

Perched atop steel pylons that abstractly emulate natural branches, the project is not literally a tree house but rather a modern interpretation of one.  The design pays the ultimate respect to the pre-existing tree, literally shaping itself around the contours of the trunk.   Inside, a single glass cut out in the floor reconnects the tree house inhabitant to the tree itself, a respectful and subtle nod to Mother Nature.

Every surface of the tree house is appointed with wood, creating an unparalleled level of warmth.  The exterior is clad with high-grade cedar while the underside of the eaves and the structure itself are clad with rich palope.  Inside, the walnut floors are complemented by walnut paneled walls.

Serving both as a studio and as guest accommodation, the tree house is completely self-sufficient with a water closet, fireplace, refrigerator, daybed, and television.  Outside, a quick walk down the stairs leads to a protected and private outdoor shower.

Architect: Rockefeller Partners Architects
Rocky Rockefeller, AIA, Christopher Kempel, AIA, and Brian Pera

Interior Design: Alana Homesley Interior Design

Landscape Architect: Pamela Burton & Company

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There were five of these restrooms completed last year, and another seven will be finished
by the end of March, 2010.

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Photography by Toshiyuki Yano

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The new Hillel House is one of a group of cultural houses, the building is located on the edge of the campus adjacent to an urban residential neighborhood. Activities include social gatherings, educational seminars, religious services and regular Sabbath dinners, allowing students to celebrate their particular cultural identity within the larger campus experience. The front of the house facing the campus is more open and public, while the rear of the house facing the neighborhood is more enclosed and private. With its dynamic roofline and inviting main spaces, the house welcomes Jewish students and the Trinity community, and creates a positive and energetic presence in the surrounding neighborhood.

Photography by Peter Aaron/Esto and Anton Grassl

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Full description after the photos….

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Altis Belém Hotel by RISCO Architects

The Bom Sucesso Hotel is situated in Belém, on the waterfront to the east of the Bom Sucesso Dock and opposite the Belém Cultural Centre. It is a 5-star hotel with 50 rooms and a number of facilities intended to support water sports.
The main structure, which has two floors, lies perpendicular to the Tagus in such a way as to make best use of the views across the city and the estuary. It is also designed not to constitute a visual obstacle along the axis between the Belém Tower and the Monument to the Discoveries. The hotel is also composed of a rectangular platform, which incorporates the restaurant and creates a “pocket” designed to increase guest privacy. There is an open green space above the platform. A very narrow structure, which sits between the hotel and the restaurant and connects them, possesses a strong identity of its own that is related to the look of the nearby Museum of Popular Art.

ARCHITECTS: Risco (Manuel Salgado, Joao Almeida eTomás Salgado) www.risco.org
ARCHITECTURE TEAM: João Almeida (site architect), Cristina Picoto, Catarina Pires e GianLuca Bono.
INTERIOR DESIGN: FSSMGN (Fernando Sanchez Salvador e Margarida Grácio Nunes) www.fssmgn.com
INTERIOR TEAM: Ana Tsukagoshi, Claire Campens, Eliana Candeias Alves, Miguel Ribeiro Carvalho, Nelson Magro, Sofia Torres Pereira
PHOTOS: FG + SG – Fotografia de Arquitectura ( www.ultimasreportagens.com )

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Full description after the photos….

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The Cedar Park House by Peter Cohan

The Cedar Park responds directly to the predicament posed by the site – that its most desirable location is also its most fragile.  It takes advantage of the prospect afforded by a steep site, while at the same time strengthening the fragile slope, collecting the water that threatens to de-stabilize it and minimizing the energy required to do so.  The building is formed by the interaction of site-cast concrete walls and water-collecting roofs.  At the same time the transparency of the house creates a seamless spatial experience, connecting inside and out.

SITE-CAST WALLS

Two concrete walls mark the site and define its major exterior and interior spaces. The first follows the long northern boundary, cupping at the end to form an outdoor hearth.  The second parallels the first, until it bends in the middle and angles to the southeast.  Together they form a Y that opens to the east. The walls become a datum against which the slope of the site is measured, growing to eleven feet tall at the entry portal.

WATER-COLLECTING ROOFS

The steep slope is subject to erosion and landslides, particularly when it becomes saturated with water.  For this reason all of the water from the roofs is collected and conveyed uphill to the street.  Two distinct roof shapes reflect different strategies for collecting the water.  The western roof conveys rainwater far enough up site to allow it to drain naturally to the street.  The eastern roof takes the form of an inverted gable that collects the water and deposits it into three above ground cisterns.  The cisterns store water for flushing toilets, doing laundry and watering the gardens.

TRANSPARENCY

The solidity of the exterior stands in sharp contrast to the openness of the interior.  The chevron-shaped living space is open to the terrace and lawn.  The 7 1/2-foot wide doors to the terrace can be slid in either direction.  The two arms of the house form the edges of a lawn that extends from the living room to the edge of the bluff overlooking Lake Washington.

Visit the Peter Cohan Architect website – here.

Photography by Lara Swimmer

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Description by Studio Nicoletti:

This auditorium – one of the largest in the world – was awarded to Studio Nicoletti as the result of an International restricted competition. Founded in the heart of the steppes only four years after the Independence of the Country, Astana is now a decade old new capital of Kazakhstan. Astana’s central nucleus occupies a rectangular area whose organizational axis is based upon a system of three piazzas. In the largest of these, dominated by the Presidential Palace, the State Auditorium faces the Senate House. The vastness of the location conjures up an impression of the immensity of the territory. Flying over the arid vastness of the steppes, we felt that what is really missing were flowers. We decided to build the “Flower of the Steppe”. Amidst this monumental void, the structures of the Auditorium rise like the petals of a flower animated through music. They create an envelope which encloses an internal piazza housing shops, balconies, restaurants, exhibition halls, two cinemas and the 3500 seats Auditorium entirely clad in wood inside and outside. Its shape is similar to a “Dombra” the typical Kazak instrument. Such internal multi-levelled piazza integrates with Astana’s system of public squares, while providing a space protected from the harsh local climate: a temperature range from -40 to +40 and salty winds.

Visit the Studio Nicoletti website – here.

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Photography by Adolf Bereuter

Visit the website of DI Bernardo Bader – here.

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Full description after the photos….

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Hat Island Residence by Bjarko | Serra Architects

This vacation retreat, located on an extraordinary beachfront setting, was designed as two separate buildings—one for living and eating, and the other for sleeping. The separate bedroom wing provides extra privacy, so late-night entertaining does not disturb sleeping children or weary parents, as the case may be. Extensive water views, generous decks, and the sheltering orientation of the two buildings contribute to a fluid relationship between living areas and the surrounding seascape.

Located at the northwest corner of Hat Island in Puget Sound near Washington’s San Juan Islands, the home is on a narrow waterfront site situated in a relatively dense beach front development of single family homes.  Except for the adjacent development to the north and south, the area is in a pristine marine environment where the experience of the water and wildlife is essential to being there.

The homeowners’ desire was to have a modern vacation house that maximizes the unique beach site and provides a comfortable central gathering space to experience the waterfront and accommodate passive activities.  The property and house are co-owned by 2 families, so the design had to provide sufficient space for large groups sharing the facilities.

Struck by the beauty of the setting, architect Chris Serra decided to create a design that captured the pristine nature of the site while minimizing the experience of the adjacent development.   The primary challenge became how to balance this idea with the reality of constructing a home for 2 families containing 5 bedrooms on a compact site.  The design scheme was conceived as 2 buildings, each serving the functions they enclose while creating a specific experience on the site. When approaching by land, the 2 buildings form an entry court that frames a view of the water through the house. The 2 story portion of the house contains sleeping areas and is oriented along the north property line to provide a buffer from a neighboring development. The semi- transparent 1 story pavilion contains the living spaces and hugs the beach front with an unassuming presence. Sliding window-walls minimize the barrier between interior and exterior spaces. Decks surrounding the house allow for easy movement throughout the site. Extensive water views, generous decks and the sheltering orientation of the 2 buildings contribute to a fluid relationship between living areas and the surrounding seascape.

Selecting materials and detailing for the shell of the building based on durability also had primary importance given the exposed nature of the site. The materials include Western Red Cedar channel siding over a rainscreen system, Cembonit cement panels over a rainscreen system, Tigerwood decking, galvanized railings, standing seam metal roofing.

Visit the Bjarko | Serra Architects website – here.

Photography by Ben Benschneider

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Description from A-cero:

The structure of this new house is made of clear volumes, straight lines and simples shapes. The house’s front is made of marble travertino and there are many windows in it. Both elements give a lot of lightness to the house.

It has a 1.600 m2 surface and three floors (basement, ground and high floor). The structure adapts itself to the slope ( 4000 m2) where the house is. The garage and service spaces are in the basement, while the most public spaces (lounge, dining room, living room …) are in the first floor. Bedrooms and more private rooms are in the high floor. A-cero has designed also a 80 m2 spectacular and geometric swimming pool. It harmonizes with the clean architecture of this A-cero project.

Visit the A-cero website – here.

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Designer Zara Estudio and fabricators Gruppo Candido Hermida chose HI-MACS in a Toffee Brown hue, and combined it with a metal trim between the pieces. Using 81 panels of HI-MACS and 3 sheets of steel, the angles and 3-D shapes allowed them to create an intriguing effect.

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Visit the ODOS Architects website – here.

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Full description after the photos….

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Description of the Orb House by Bojan Simic:

‘Orb House’ adopts a minimalist aesthetic as a counterpoint to the heavy handed, utilitarian architectural fabric that makes up it’s streetscape tapestry. Located on a unique site descending rapidly towards the Yarra River and Yarra Bend Golf Course, it is less a protest statement than an exploration of contrasts through purity of form – a simple transparent circle in a congested patchwork quilt.

Inspired by the dwellings of ancient Pompeii, our approach was to create a tranquil introspective living environment based on the central courtyard typology around which all living, working and entertaining orbits. The building’s form and footprint is characterized by a curved central spine wall which defines two distinct zones – the ‘living’ zone within the rim and the ‘sleeping’ zone beyond. This defining rim provides interiors with a theatrical backdrop while creating intimate residual spaces externally.

A monochromatic palette of materials and textures augment the minimalist geometry of the composition. Aspect and light are dramatically introduced via frameless thermal glass curtain walls utilizing commercial glazing technology.

Aspiring towards a future residential prototype the ‘Orb House’ adopts tried and tested methodologies from the ancient past – a ‘back to the future’ kind of approach.

Visit the website of Bojan Simic Architecture – here.

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]]> http://www.contemporist.com/2010/03/09/the-orb-house-by-bojan-simic/feed/ 14 http://www.contemporist.com/2010/03/08/the-margoliouth-house-by-dlab/ http://www.contemporist.com/2010/03/08/the-margoliouth-house-by-dlab/#comments Mon, 08 Mar 2010 09:13:49 +0000 Dave http://www.contemporist.com/?p=9344 The Margoliouth House is a project where the architects at DLab provided a contemporary redesign for an existing two-storey bungalow in Singapore.

Full description after the photos….

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The Margoliouth House by DLab

In keeping with the architect’s belief in a sustainable design approach with minimal waste, and in finding the best design solution with an economy of means, this reconstruction project on Margoliouth Road retains the majority of the existing 2 storey bungalow on the site.  This existing house followed a Western model which was positioned like an object on a landscape, surrounded by lawn.  In the new design, architectural firm DLab questioned the relevance of this model in the tropical Singapore context where the usefulness of the lawn is very limited.  The architects searched for an alternative strategy for dealing with external and internal spaces that would make the garden a more livable area and allow it to positively affect the living spaces in terms of its cooling and regenerative properties.

DLab conceived the design as a cluster of volumes, some of them positive solid forms and some negative hollow volumes.  These positive and negative volumes of varying proportions are composed in a non-hierarchical spatial organization where the positive volumes contain the various domestic functions and the negative volumes are courtyards or outdoor rooms. The volumes are in various locations separated from each other with interstitial zones that act as sheltered corridors straddling the internal and external rooms.  These circulation spaces heighten the perception of the various volumes that are experienced simultaneously from the corridor, blurring the differentiation between inside and out.

The existing house structure is retained and forms the largest solid volume which contains the family-oriented accommodations such as the Dining, Kitchen, Family rooms and children’s bedrooms. It occupies the western half of the site and anchors the dwelling as a whole. Three more pavilions were added to the eastern half of the site. The first houses the grandparent’s suite and master suite. This monolithic 2 storey pavilion is situated at the furthest eastern corner of the site to act as a counter weight to the existing house. The second is a double volume glass pavilion for the living room and is placed in between the first two pavilions.  This space uses insulation glazing on three of its façades, allowing daylight to flood the room so that it is perceived more like a sheltered outdoor venue.   The designers developed a system for the glazing that is composed of an outer layer of ceramic fritted glass and an inner layer of roller blind. In between these two planes, an inner pocket of hot air forms, which is released through ventilation slots at roof level.   With the added advantage of cross ventilation, the effect is a surprisingly cooling space which benefits from the daylight and exposure to the garden without the detrimental effects of the heat.  The third addition to the house is a partially enclosed garden courtyard placed at the centre of the house, making it the focal point of all the living spaces. The courtyard is treated architecturally like all the other rooms, with three sides of the space enclosed in glass and a staircase to the master suite cantilevering off its side wall.

Architect: D Lab
Interior Design: A D Lab Pte Ltd
Photography:  Aaron Pocock

Visit the DLab website – here.

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From the developers:

The Margarido House is 55 percent more energy efficient than California’s Title 24 energy standards. The home features extensive green building components such as eco-friendly Western Red Cedar siding, a planted green roof garden and deck, on-site rain and ground water reclamation, in-floor hydronic heating, and solar electric and solar thermal (hot water) systems.

Perched in the Oakland Hills on a double-sized 13,000 sq. ft. multi-layer lot overlooking San Francisco Bay, the award-winning Margarido House exemplifies outstanding, sustainable design. Over 4,600 sq. ft. on two levels, the new five-bedroom, five-bath masterpiece features designer finishes throughout, and an open floor plan that takes full advantage of the breathtaking views.

The Margarido House has become a symbol of the movement in high design, high sustainability, collaboration and community. Over 6,000 designers, architects, builders and homeowners have toured the home to learn about sustainability and high design.

For more information and photos visit www.margaridohouse.com

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Full description after the photos….

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La Zagaleta House by Peter Thomas de Cruz

This spectacular contemporary house occupies a hillside site inland from the coast of southern Spain. The brainchild of the developers, the house challenges the orthodoxy of much of the recent pseudo-vernacular development in the area with calm, flowing spaces, a considered response to topography and climate and simplicity in detail.

With stunning views across a valley towards distant mountains in the west, this largely single aspect house uses the slope of the site to maximum advantage. The core of the house is a top lit double height gallery flooded with natural light that runs across the slope of the site. The prime living spaces are on the west side of the gallery whilst to the east ancillary accommodation and cooling courtyards are set into the hillside. All of the full height glazed facades parallel with the slope open fully to allow air to pass through the building, making the most of anabatic and katabatic winds. The cross ventilation, combined with large cantilevered roof overhangs and balconies which provide solar shading, reduces the reliance on air conditioning and extends the opportunity for comfortable open air living.

From the entrance of the house an elliptical curved wall on the westerly side peels away from the main axis, widening the gallery and pulling you towards a double height window at the end, progressively revealing a single mountain peak in the distance. Punched holes in the gallery wall give glimpses of mountain views to the west across the series of interconnected open plan living spaces. The end of the gallery culminates in a large double height living space that leads towards a disappearing edge swimming pool which projects out into space. At first floor level, a bridge open on both sides overlooking the main living space leads to the master bedroom suite, which is connected to a private study below by a spiral staircase wrapped within the ‘tail’ of the curved wall.

Adding to the sense of spectacle the house is dramatically cut in two perpendicular to the gallery with a glass-floored dining space bridging the gap between the two halves and linking the cooking space to the living space. The parallel gallery sits astride an internal pool and, when all the glazing is fully retracted, both the gallery and the dining space become bridges fully open to the air. The calmness of the house is accentuated by water flowing from the gallery courtyard pool down over a slate-finished waterfall beneath the dining room to meet the lowest of the two connected swimming pools.

Photography by Simon Collins

Visit the website of Peter Thomas de Cruz – here.

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Full description after the photos….

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Les Aventuriers House by Shun Hirayama Architecture

The site is located in Kanagawa Prefecture on a mountainside that overviews a sea and a city. The client couple, who are friends of mine, and I visited there, when the project was initiated. Walking around in the pre-project site, where too many tall trees stand on, views changed variously, because of the slanted land’s height differences. The experience was comparable to a pleasure of wandering in a forest. Taking a walk on a hillside or feel like so even inside the house had become a concept and we went on to continue the project, taking the slope positively.

Firstly, we started to define what kind of places should be there on the hill and then images of four living places were formed: a kitchen and a dining space near a road that becomes an approach, a living space at a good view point, bedrooms at positions to look out the hill, a bathroom at an airy location, and so on. After that, we put these places to individual volumes, converted them to wooden masses and shaped them, conforming to each site shape and condition, as if carving sculpture. The lateral of the road and the north surface are positioned parallel to the site boundaries, and the east surface, where the kitchen is, is slanted toward the south in order to let light in. The face of the living space is slightly inclined toward the north, so as to avoid seeing the neighborhood’s building. As a result, gradually overlapping each other, the four masses were formed into one shape.

After the outline of the building emerged, we proceeded to create the interior spaces. First of all, we produced a path that possesses comfortable straight eyesight, analogous to walking between trees. The path connects the inside and the outside, and again backs to the inside without a dead-end. A bridge becomes a part of the journey. On the finishes of the floors, various kinds of wooden floor that were chosen to match the assorted atmosphere are laid like carpets. In the center of a concrete floor that meets the ground, thin trees are arranged so as to look like a path between rice paddies.

We forwarded the design, piling up stories little by little, as if animals create their nest steadily. The traces of the thoughts and processes appear remarkably. In the interior of the building that was shaped to fit the landform, walls set in diverse angles, various ceiling heights and ten different floor levels exist and in the each space dissimilar shades live. The wind that enters inside the one-room interior space feels like they came between trees, and it feels like sitting on a natural stump, when sitting on a slight level difference.

Visit the website of Shun Hirayama Architecture – here.

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Full description after the photos….

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Lake Travis Retreat by Dick Clark Architecture

Envisioned as a home that will accommodate a family as it grows, and play host to friends and extended family, the ideas that inform the design of the house were developed through an unusual process — The family, including their children, all actively participated in design meetings with the team from Dick Clark Architecture. Critical decisions were vetted among the group and decided by vote, with each family member getting equal say. The result is a house that stays true to its purpose as a place where family and friends can spend precious free time enjoying one another and the beauty of the Highland Lakes setting.

In processing the program objectives of the family, Dick Clark Architecture made a number of suggestions: one was to organize the plan of the house so that primary views focus on interior courtyards or the lake itself. This heightens the “retreat” quality of the house, and ensure that even as development continues in the vicinity of the house, the quality of views will be maintained.

Dick Clark Architecture also advised their clients to keep the scale of the house as small as possible (for a large family), think of the front of the house in unconventional terms and consider details and materials that can be effectively maintained, with the idea that less time needed for “clean up” means more time relaxing.

These ideas rendered a plan organized around two distinct courtyards, connected by a highly transparent gallery (that becomes open air by sliding floor to ceiling doors to their open position). Bedrooms are located in the long wing to the west, while more social activities take place in the courtyards or in the kitchen and other living spaces in the east wing of the house.

The most gestural element of the house is a raised, copper clad pavilion with transparent walls facing south toward the neighborhood and north toward the courtyard and lake. The butterfly shape of the roof dramatically casts off rainwater through an oversized scupper, an external reference to the series of seven water features found inside the walls of the retreat. The courtyard offers two points of entry: when the large wooden gate is rolled in to the open position below the pavilion, the house invites visitors to come in through this primary pathway. A second gate is found by following a linear water feature that starts along the east edge of the sandstone wall. Not visible from the street, this entry provides a more intimate arrival into the courtyard.

The west wing transitions from opaque to more transparent as it moves toward the lake. The master suite takes advantage of its lakeside view in part through the inclusion of a “perch” for the parents, who occasionally like to be able to withdraw and read a book while still maintaining a view to the activity taking place in the courtyard and lake below.

Exterior walls, made of sandstone, were assembled through a drystack method, in which no mortar was used. The result is a monolithic form in which the warn tones of the stone are ever variable under the changing conditions of natural light.

When gallery walls open, the two courtyards become one continuous space, perfect for parties. (A steel frame butterfy roof in the lakeside courtyard makes it possible to fire up the outdoor grill, even when it is raining). The lakeside courtyard, including the trees preserved during construction, ameliorate the slope of the site. Drawing subtle influence from Japanese garden practices, the shifts in elevation are defined and integrated by areas of softscape, areas of hardscape and a linear water feature. The final water feature in the series of seven brings together the family’s love of water and social activity: a jacuzzi large enough to accommodate twelve people and offering an outstanding view of the lake.

Halili limestone is used continuously inside as the surface material for the pool courtyard as well as inside the house. The only variable is the size of the stone blocks. Smaller cuts are used in the interior of the house and more private areas of the exterior.

The kitchen is conceived with the idea that cooking and the enjoyment of meals are participatory activities. A large table extends perpendicularly from the island cooktop, providing a place for informal dining or buffet style service. By creating four distinct (and different sized) seating areas for meal-taking in the living area and kitchen, indoor dining can be easily set for two or an assembled group of twenty, all sharing and interacting in the same space.

Visit the website of Dick Clark Architecture – here.

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