At its heart, this vacation house is about creating a place where a young family can gather away from the city to enjoy the outdoors and build a legacy of memories. Located on the ecotone, or border, between a Ponderosa pine forest and lake, the home is a framework for the family to experience nature. The house emphasizes the crossing point between these two ecological zones – a distinct yet subtle marker of the family’s presence and legacy.
The home’s materiality helps it fold into the landscape. Exterior siding of reclaimed barnwood will silver as it weathers, weaving the home into the forest. The center of the home is the open-plan living and dining area, which has double-height guillotine window walls on either side. From afar, this transparency allows for views through the home to the lake beyond. When both window walls are open, the effect is of a single plinth floating above the forest floor. Native plantings grow up to the home’s edges, and a screened porch on the south end opens to a covered deck. These varying degrees of enclosure allow the family to engage with nature during all seasons.
A longtime vacation spot for the family, who camped there before their home was built, the home was designed to maintain a sense of natural discovery the family enjoyed when spending time on the land. The site plan is organized around a path leading through the forest and down to the lake. From the driveway, a gravel path leads across a meadow to the home’s entrance, then winds around the house and down the hill to the lake. Along the way, a constellation of outdoor spaces including covered decks, a fire pit and a hot pool nestled into the hillside chart a path of discovery from house to lake.
“Like a dragonfly, this house sits lightly on the land and disappears into the landscape. It quietly emerges out of the forest and overlooks the lake below.” –Tom Kundig, FAIA, RIBA, Design Principal
Material Used :
1. Facade cladding: Reclaimed barnwood siding
2. Flooring: ARC Flooring, reclaimed oak; exterior ipe decking
3. Doors: Entry: Custom designed by Olson Kundig and painted to match the client’s 1963 Ferrari
4. Windows: Dynamic, Steel Arte
5. Roofing: Bonderized, Standing seam metal roof in Vintage
6. Interior lighting: Kitchen island lighting: pendant lights by Jielde; screen porch lighting: steel counter-weighted chandelier custom design by Olson Kundig
7. Interior furniture: Screen porch -- Painted steel cabinets customed design by Olson Kundig; aged fir dining table custom designed by Olson Kundig; dining chairs by Sawkille. Living room -- sectional by B&B Italia; walnut coffee table custom design by Olson Kundig; steel console table from Tom Kundig Collection by 12th Avenue Iron. Dining room – walnut dining table custom design by Olson Kundig; vintage Vladimir Kagan dining chairs
8. Hardware: Tom Kundig Collection by 12th Avenue Iron
9. Fireplace: Board-form concrete with steel mantel and rolling screen, custom design by Olson Kundig; tools from Tom Kundig Collection by 12th Avenue Iron
10. Kitchen counters: Absolute Black granite
11. Kitchen backsplash: Absolute Black granite
12. Kitchen cabinets: Riftsawn white oak by Norris Woodworking
13. Window treatments: Lutron Roller Shades, Phantom screens and custom drapery
14. Exterior furniture: Deck furniture by Paola Lenti and Sutherland
