Located on four acres of rolling hills in a suburban development, this single-family residence draws on the conventional construction methods of its McMansion neighbors, but focuses on reductive material use and detailing to elevate the living experience. The program is arranged as four gabled forms enclosing a small courtyard with pool for this young, active family. Sited in a suburban development at the high point of a hay field, the house recalls the simple agricultural forms of the region, but it is executed with finely crafted details that belie its conventional origins.

Two grades of cedar siding are used to clad the house and express its formal origins. Knotty, horizontal siding clads the exterior with a dark stain to conceal the inexpensive material’s imperfections, while a finer grained vertical cedar free of knots is used where the forms are sliced, carved, separated, and rotated, revealing a more refined interior than the knotty cedar suggests.

The house follows a rigorous order that serves to layer spaces and establish framed views up and through the house, allowing family members to see each other, inside and out. Balancing the owner’s desire for a contemporary aesthetic with comforting warmth, the architecture works to fit its suburban neighborhood while surprising visitors upon their closer inspection. The program is expressed as a series of four gabled volumes gathered around a courtyard swimming pool, defining a private outdoor space. The two-toned skin of each form expresses their division from the original yet links them together as if they were one.