Edge House

Nestled in the mountains of Northwestern Connecticut, the Edge House borders a sun filled
clearing in the forest above a stream, which meanders through the valley below. This private
residence offers a quiet retreat with spectacular views to the west.

Two curved walls clad in vertical cedar boards carve into the landscape and form the major
organizational elements of the house while preserving the existing clearing as a lawn. The primary wall, stained red, acts as the spine of the house and marks the path of circulation from the main entry at the southeast to the master bedroom and its western views over the valley below. This wall borders the forest and shelters the home from prevailing winter winds. The secondary walls respond to a more rectilinear geometry, passing through the curved walls and forming nooks that connect the interior to the lawn and primary views. An alignment of the fireplace and the screened porch forms a cross-axis in the otherwise continuous exterior envelope of the house. This axis reflects the orientation and spacing of the roof framing revealed throughout the house, which further emphasizes the curvilinear nature of the stained cedar walls. Operable windows on the west and sliding doors on the south elevation provide ventilation and openness, while deep overhangs to the south provide shelter from the summer sun and rain.

The metal-clad master bedroom reaches out over the mountainside, framing the view to the west while reflecting the shimmering late afternoon sun and illuminating the red spine wall. Small flipper doors at the head of the bed platform allow cool mountain breezes to pass up and over the bed during the warm summer months.

Delicately inserted into the natural world, the Edge House exists in the realm between forest and sky.