Inner Dimension

Walls of glass blur the boundary between indoors and out in this bathroom. The floors are Jerusalem Bone limestone.

"The canopy structure was carefully edited down to only its essential parts," explain the architects. "Every component was designed so that each member is purposeful and is exactly the size and shape it needs to be and no more. The fabrication and assembly process was fully considered to allow for straightforward construction."

The master bedroom is privately located off the main house in a rectangular tower towards the back of the home. The master is complete with custom touches like distressed blackened steel steps that lead down to a private basement garage, as well as cantilevered steps up to a penthouse office.

Horizon Neighborhood cluster plan

"It is a tremendous challenge to build 9,000 feet from the ground, and the site typically receives more than 500 inches of snowfall per year," says architect Brian MacKay-Lyons. "There were no roads or services, and we needed to minimize the amount of concrete used in this project due to the high cost of pouring concrete on a mountaintop."

Glazed sliding doors blur the lines between indoor and outdoor living and help bring in cooling cross breezes from the coast.

One major directive was to “honor the tree,” referring to a particular 85-year-old cottonwood on the property. Photo by: Kirk Gittings

Marrying the interior with the outdoors informed the design, as did the concept of subtraction: “If you do it with two, then you can do it with one,” Maniatis says, articulating Roger’s algebra of minimalism. Photo by: Kirk Gittings

Private areas (including bedrooms and bathrooms) are located in the shipping container “wings” of the home. The large, open great room features a kitchen and space for living and dining. The layout carefully balances secluded space with open common areas.

Casa Gilardi by Luis Barragán

Pros: Concrete countertops are durable, resistant to heat, and can be less expensive than natural stone, especially when completed as a DIY project. Cons: Concrete must be sealed before being used; otherwise, its porous nature means that it will stain very easily.

An outdoor shower in the lower courtyard includes most of the materials that define the project, including Cor-Ten steel posts, horizontal ipe slats and decking, a custom seat and towel shelf set into a natural boulder, and concrete pavers. The yard includes many elements built for play, like a water feature embedded in a concrete wall that is fed by runoff rainwater collected from the breezeway roof.

The house has two modules: a living space on the left and a utilities, laundry, and outdoor kitchen on the right.

The master suite bathroom features an outdoor shower.

Project Name: Martis - Dunsmuir