“There’s something about it that feels very contextual to where it is—on a little teeny hill, looking out over the Dry Creek Valley, and there’s nothing else artful around,” says Louis.
One of the biggest challenges of the project was just finding solid ground to build upon. “We just dug and dug, nearly five meters down. It looked like an area of war,” says Gylfir.
Lead architect, Tom Lenchek, opted for simple forms and materials that direct attention outwards, towards the cabin's natural surroundings.
Lead architect, Tom Lenchek, opted for simple forms and materials that direct attention outwards, towards the cabin's natural surroundings.
The Linns’ home, which Andrew Linn and Jack Becker completed for Andrew and his wife last year, declares its commitment to natural materials with a patchwork of wood products on its exterior. The sassafras cladding the lower portion of the house’s east face peels away from the building to become a freestanding fence enclosing a small, private outdoor space in the middle of the alley.
“The exterior paths and balconies were designed on-site,” Chrismar says. “We wanted a direct connection to the landscape.”
In the dining room, under one of six large industrial skylights, one of the massive hearths is ornamented with a single red tile. Though they don’t know why Katselas placed it there, Mel and designer/project manager Carter Bradley turned it into a motif that pops up unexpectedly elsewhere in the house.
The Red Wood Maple tree is visible prior to construction. Today it's leaves are visible over the gallery walkway. It sits in a prominent spot, framed with a backdrop of saturated red on the exterior siding.
Inspired by the Ice Age rock formations found throughout the region, the Meteorite, so named for obvious reasons, is a faceted dwelling designed by Kivi and Tuuli Sotamaa, the brother-and-sister team behind Ateljé Sotamaa.