This residence is sited on the heavily wooded Rattlesnake Creek bed. The main body of the house runs parallel to the creek, allowing the sight and sound of its year-round flow to be experienced within the 110-foot-long space. There is an outer, protective shell, and an inner intimate core to the house. The outer shell is composed of hard materials and the roof is supported by an exposed steel structure under a metal pan. When glazing is not present, the walls are poured concrete and boardformed and the floor is stone.The house is enclosed on the side opposite to the creek with a board-formed concrete wall that stops short of the roof, allowing a continuous band of clerestory for light and circulation.
Contained like precious jewels within this shell are the rooms of the house. They are distinctly separate structures, make of rich warm woods, each with a unique ceiling that brings the scale and feel to a more intimate level. Large sliding panels allow the rooms to become completely private. They are arranged in a linear pattern that follows the line of the creek, allowing a one-to-one relationship of creek to enclosure. The rooms are contained within a greater container, their unique ceilings separating them from the higher structure above—they are like pieces of cabinetry within a volume. The house is strongly horizontal, disciplined, and rests lightly on the land.
