In an area of suburban New York often associated with McMansions and the bulldozing and blasting they require, KieranTimberlake found a way to carefully fit a spacious, accommodating home within a wooded, rocky terrain.

The owners requested a “house in the woods, of the woods” for their 33-acre property. After exploring the grounds, the site for the structure was chosen for its naturally-outlined “rooms,” which consist of two clearings amongst a series of glacier-formed boulders just beneath the apex of a ridge, which sits 100 feet above a wetland. A small ravine carries water down from the ridge, separating the two “rooms.” And thus the form and function of the land directly informed the design for a two-piece residence connected by a glass bridge.

In keeping with the passive strategy of locating a new building within a nature-determined plot rather than manipulating the landscape, the design of the building itself assures a low-energy impact on its surroundings. By incorporating cladding materials and apertures that help the house gain solar heat that is retained during the winter and cross-ventilated in warmer months, the home’s design acknowledges and respects the entire seasonal spectrum of a life experienced in harmony with nature.

The exterior walls are a matrix of materials that work together to further enhance the interplay with the natural surroundings. As conditions change over the course of the day and throughout the year, tin zinc-coated copper, brushed stainless steel, polished stainless steel, and glass reflect and refract a reverie of unfolding time within the woods.