The client found a ‘remnant’ site bordered by a greenbelt/bike path and requested a low-maintenance, open house for their family of five to live and grow. The perimeter of the lot is rung with a mix of beech, oak, hickory & magnolias with a large 50” oak at the entry/west side of the property. B + O chose to break the owner’s program up into 4 elements to create an open ‘courtyard’ in this private, sylvan setting. The large oak anchors a gravel auto-court w/ covered carport-garage structure & path to the front door. Water, a key concern in a flat context like coastal NC, is treated/stored on the site with a raingarden in the SE corner of the site, and most runoff directed to a large cistern & overflow rill/water feature running to the NW, working with the hydrology of the area.
The owners desired a clean, simple, contemporary design working with the lot in such a way that views of the greenbelt and north terrace are always present within the house. The program consisted of an open, kitchen-great room area, second-floor bedrooms & kids’ play room, and a private master pavilion (BR-sitting area-en suite bath/dressing). The design utilizes a palette of basic, expressive materials; steel beams/moment frames, cypress siding, ptd. fiber-cement, concrete, old barn wood, CMU walls/hearth, and plywood- both natural & stained. Large slatted doors/panels slide away opening the rear yard to the west entry, and a 15’ cantilevered canopy & exterior fireplace create a ‘living room’ in the clearing. A 600 SF home office/guest house is planned for a later phase on the NE corner of the lot, which will further create the sense of a central family ‘courtyard’
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