Horta

A section of the facade—a cross between a shoji screen and a barn door—slides open. Planter boxes contain edible varieties that fuel Mary’s culinary explorations.

Achieving such efficiency and maintaining the integrity of the wetlands and woodlands on the property meant more research for both the designers and the resident—just getting approval for the siting of the buildings and the driveway took eight months—but Hague is hardly one to do things half way. “A lot of times couples engage in house-building, like birds. I'm doing this solo, more like a monk,” he says of the deeply personal undertaking.