Lines

Poured polished concrete floors, plaster walls, and the pine ceiling with hemlock beams infuse subtle interest and warmth. The bend in the gathering pavilion follows the site’s topography.

“When I walk through the house, I remember putting the plywood on the ceilings, which was not fun at all. But there’s a satisfaction in having been part of that process,” notes Craig.

Levenbetts designed the guesthouse as a porous block. Every side opens to the outdoors, allowing the landscape to continue through the building. “The idea was to create this total openness and informality and almost undomesticated domestic space,” says architect David Leven. The concrete is textured by its forms on the outside but smooth where it cuts into the building—“almost as though you sliced into it with a knife,” Leven adds.

A vegetable garden is on top of the structure. Placing the garden up a flight of stairs—the form of which shapes one of the house’s openings— protects its plantings from hungry fauna.