Nestled
on a deep wooded site, this modern house is designed for a young family to
create open, flexible spaces for living and playing that allow the indoor and
outdoor spaces to merge. Entering the
site between mature Spruce and White Pine trees, the L – shaped plan creates a
car court and play area under a landmark Tamarack tree. The landscape was sculpted to create a
series of flat activity spaces extending the house into the site from the main
and lower levels. This site design
included a ‘land pier’ with a terrace off the kitchen, shaping the transition
between the main and lower level grade.
The flat play spaces are maintained grass while the land pier and
perimeter areas are a low maintenance fescue grass for natural sustainability.
The
client sought an industrial modern architecture to reflect their European
heritage as a compliment of contrast to the natural landscape. The non-maintenance exterior is composed of
folded planes of black concrete block as a sculptural base, which is expressed
inside the house. The upper level
contains the bedroom wing and a play space over the garage. These two forms rest on the black base as
ochre and gray fiber cement panels. The
aluminum windows create expansive views on the main level and draw in natural
light through clerestory glass on the upper level. Dark Slate and Red Birch floors and custom Birch cabinetry extend
the materials palette on the interior.