How They Pulled It Off: An Upside-Down House Rises From a 19th-Century Railbed

Welcome to How They Pulled It Off, where we take a close look at one particularly challenging aspect of a home design and get the nitty-gritty details about how it became a reality.

In the forested hills of northeastern Pennsylvania, a curving abandoned railbed from the 1890s forms the unlikely foundation for a very modern family retreat by Materia Prima Studio. 

While the railroad once carried timber and ice from the mountains to nearby towns, today part of it serves as the site for a house inspired by nature that slowly reveals itself upon approach. 

The clever "upside-down" format of the home sees the bedrooms located in a stone base nestled into the landscape, with the living areas perched above in a timber-clad pavilion punctuated by windows to frame the surrounding treescape. 

For homeowners Jenn and Bill, the decision to build from scratch on land adjacent to their family’s long-held farm was as much about creating space for their family of five as it was about crafting a connection to place. "We wanted to feel like our home had always been here," explains Jenn. "From the beginning, the idea was to have a house that reflects what you would see in nature."

They enlisted Gabe Hodge, principal architect and founder of Materia Prima Studio, to bring their vision to life. On an early walk through the site, Hodge quickly spotted the potential curved hill formed by the railroad bed. "It was clear that this was a man-made feature," he recalls. "And we thought, why not use it? It offers a base and gives us the opportunity to hide one part of the house and elevate another."

Hodge’s solution was an "upside-down" house with the public and private parts of the house inverted—the bedrooms are tucked into the hill formed by the abandoned railbed, and this offers a base for the more open, light-filled living spaces above. The result is a house that appears to gently emerge from the slope with its cedar-clad upper level peeking through the trees. The glulam Douglas fir frame on the upper level enables broad, column-free spans and a soaring roofline that perches like a timber canopy above the forest floor.

The considered—yet unusual—concept took some time for Jenn and Bill to come around to. "We had to get used to the idea of bedrooms downstairs," recalls Bill. "It was different to anything we’d lived in before." Once built, the benefits became clear, with the layout—as well as the substantial steel and concrete structure—allowing for bedrooms that are peaceful, quiet, and cool.

The upper volume housing the living spaces is full of light and surrounded by carefully placed Marvin Ultimate windows and scenic doors that offer views through the treetops. "We worked really closely with Marvin to get the windows we wanted—big enough to really take in the views, but with the kind of performance you need in this climate," said Hodge. "You feel the seasons here. When it snows, you can see it falling through the skylights and windows; and when the wind blows, you hear it moving through the trees." 

Hodge designed a two-storey stair hall as a point of arrival, leading visitors from the shaded, stone-clad base up into the light-filled upper volume. "It’s a choreographed procession," he explains. "You come in from the winding drive, and this space delivers you to the timber pavilion above. When you reach the top of the stairs, you see the planted roof and the family farm through the trees."

The green roof is a key feature of the home both visually and functionally. Covering the larger lower volume, it blurs the boundary between house and hill, providing a sense of continuity and a buffer against the elements. "We’d seen green roofs in cities and loved the idea," says Jenn. "It felt more natural than a big deck." From inside, it serves as a verdant foreground that frames the views beyond.

Likewise, the materials used throughout were selected to resonate with the site—think locally quarried bluestone that nods to the traditional farm walls found throughout the region, Douglas fir glulam timber framing, and cedar siding. In a poetic detail, the siding is patterned to reflect the feathering of red-winged blackbirds, which are native to the area.

Underpinning the entire concept was the successful integration of large expanses of glazing—particularly in the top pavilion. To achieve this, Marvin Ultimate windows and doors have been used in a mix of standard and custom sizes, the Douglas fir wood frames echoing the timber structure of the home.

"The windows and architecture work together to create a framework for living and a seamless way to bring the exterior into the interior," says Hodge. You're always connected, in at least three directions, to the view—and at night, the upper pavilion glows through the trees."

How they pulled it off: Designing an upside-down house in the forest

• Let the land lead: The curve of an 1890s railbed offered a natural cue for siting the home, with a ready-made topographic divide. By aligning the planted roof with this subtle arc, the house tucks discreetly into the slope—hidden from the nearby family farm, but with borrowed views through the trees.

• Upside-down layout: By locating bedrooms on the lower level, the main living spaces could rise into the treetops, offering light, views, and a strong sense of connection to the landscape. A double-height stair hall connects the two levels, guiding visitors from the quiet, grounded entry up into the luminous upper pavilion.

• Frame the treetops: Windows wrap the upper volume, offering expansive views while meeting local energy and performance requirements. "We wanted the experience to feel a bit like being in a treehouse," says Hodge. "That meant framing views, bringing in light, and choosing windows that could handle seasonal shifts."

• Capture the light, hold the heat: With floor-to-ceiling glazing in the main living spaces and north-facing orientation, the timber pavilion takes full advantage of passive solar gain. The planted roof helps regulate temperatures below, reducing the need for mechanical cooling.

• Design for silence: A steel superstructure and four-inch concrete slab between floors ensures the lower-level bedrooms are acoustically and thermally insulated from the more active upper volume. This delivers serious soundproofing, ensuring that noise from the kitchen, living areas, or even rain on the roof doesn’t reach the bedrooms below.

• Clear with care: Minimal tree clearing and sensitive siting helped preserve the natural setting "We cleared as few trees as possible," said Bill. "We went tree by tree. That’s part of why it feels like the house has always been here."

• Extend the landscape: The green roof blurs boundaries between architecture and terrain while helping to insulate the lower level and soften the view.

Project Credits:

Architect: Materia Prima Studio 

Builder: Dakan Enterprises

Windows and Doors: Marvin

Photography: Andrew Bui for Dwell Creative Services

Video: Emanuel Hahn for Dwell Creative Services