Located on a parklike suburban site with a river running through it, this Y-shaped home opens to a lush landscape. Designed for a former gallery owner and curator of Asian art, the home is inspired by the client’s family heritage in the lumber industry.

The project incorporates two primary materials: white ash and black slate, each used in various ways to highlight their physical characteristics and minimize waste. Slate is a natural product with very low embodied energy. All slate came from the same quarry. It was split into roof shingles, cleft for wall stone, cut for slabs, crushed for driveways, and all scraps were collected into gabions to create drainage and retaining structures. Throughout the day, the stone is transformed with the sun's movement. Ash ceiling, wall, and floor surfaces have a consistent linear appearance. Shifts from quarter-sawn to plain-cut boards subtly acknowledge key points of transition.

Like cutting into an apple, every opening in the slate exterior reveals the warm wooden interior. Each opening is set into the building shading the interior from the sun during the warmer months. The south-facing front entrance tracks that solar path, allowing the sun to fill the space in winter. From the interior, glass walls span floor to ceiling and wall to wall, allowing unobstructed views of the dramatic landscape outside every window. The interior volumes frame curated outdoor scenes, not unlike the Japanese woodblock printing that the client has in her collection. As the landscaping is intentionally designed to be experienced from within the home, the layered plantings, surfaces, and sculptural works become the focal points of each room. The landscape not only inspires the interiors, but becomes part of it, forging a connection between the built and the natural worlds that infuses and enhances the day-to-day life of residents.

The first steps in planning this home were to minimize disruption to the flood-prone riverside site and capitalize on passive opportunities. From that foundation, eliminating waste, sequestering carbon, and creating a healthy interior environment were all essential elements of the design.

All slate came from the same regional quarry and was used in various ways to eliminate waste. Scraps were collected into gabions, used as landscape edging, and crushed for use in driveways, thereby eliminating discarded material. In addition to displaying the material’s physical characteristics, this approach minimized material removed from the earth. Slate is a natural product with very low embodied energy to produce; it is resistant to fire, hail, acid rain, and insects; it is recyclable, and it lasts for generations. Sustainably sourced wooden structure and finishes sequester carbon within the home.

Each interior space opens to the landscape. The warm timber interior, color temperature of the lighting, and material selections all promote well-being and a healthy living space. Inset floor-to-ceiling glazing controls solar heat gain. Perimeter gabion French drains manage rainwater. Extensive exterior plantings improve air quality and provide habitats for wildlife. Slate gravel driveways are permeable and reduce runoff.

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