in.site:architecture
2021-21_MODEL SOUTH.jpg

Shelter... (in)Place

SHELTER … (in) PLACE

An unbroken Roof

Reaches out long and barn-like, 

A Finger pointing.

***
Our rural practice, situated where cows outnumber people, embraces an agricultural ethic. We aim to master three lessons from farmers:

  • SITING. Like the modern barn, place-based structures belong because they serve - and are in equilibrium with - the land that nourishes them.

  • SCALE. A modern barn is sublime and its scale is in measure with the working landscape it inhabits.

  • ECONOMY. Ingenuity underscores a lack of pretension. Simple forms suited for climate and purpose.

Here, on fallow Finger Lakes fields, our clients aim to create a dwelling… that fits.

***

This house is not a barn. However, it will be surrounded by a cultivated landscape that is squarely within the cultural, geographic, and historic context of barns.

Heeding the above lessons, the design begins with a linear, roofed form, sited to minimize disruption of the field. 

This “line in the landscape” accomplishes several things:

  • At its east end it greets visitors. Pulling away the garage permits a roofed zen entry garden between, plus shaded outdoor living spaces that frame the landscape.

  • Along its south facade its transparency and length permits communion with the dark forest across the pond.

  • Its west end culminates one story above the sloping terrain with indoor/outdoor living space aimed at the view.

All the above could result in a house that looks much like a freestall barn, but for several small changes. 

Passive solar principles compel us to pivot the south wall 15 degrees east — while the western facade is pulled deeply behind the roof and seasonal shade sails — to protect against summer afternoon’s low rays.  The “pivot” also slims down the house at its entry, shedding unnecessary square footage. The result? All shared living spaces occupy a multi-level room that grows in width and height as one proceeds along that “line in the landscape.”

In the end, this single roof — inspired by farm buildings, chiseled and stretched by function — amplifies and refines its role as Shelter in this rural Place.