Woodlands

Almost as difficult as reinventing the wheel – architecturally speaking – is transforming a typology: taking a building style so familiar as to be embedded in the collective memory, and doing it differently. And not for novelty’s sake, but rather to reinterpret a beloved historic genre through the considerations of contemporary family life, changing aesthetic tastes, and sustainable building practice.

Such were the challenges faced by R+B in the design of Woodlands, a residence nestled in a magnificent valley, beside a pristine lake reflecting sublime mountain views. The architectural model was the national park lodge, a typology associated with rustic grandeur, fast friendship, and the celebration of the American West. All of these traditions remained relevant to the house’s design. But both outside and within, we transformed the late 19th/early 20th century public model to suit the predilections of a modern family in a 21st-century private home.

The austere front façade hews closely to the ‘parkitecture’ ideal, with only a back-tilted ‘battered’ stone wall surrounding the front door – suggestive of a temple portal – to subvert expectations. In back, conversely, we took the post-and-beam motif typically associated with traditional lodge interiors and transformed it into an exoskeleton, in the form of a gracious, pergola-style covered porch running the full length of the back elevation, and continuing along the house’s eastern end.

On the interior – replacing a park lodge’s typical aesthetic and social cacophony – the cross-axial plan avoids visual noise and decorative kitsch: apart from the dramatic view from the front door, through the entry and double-height living room, to the lake, the layout is soothingly traditional, with discrete rooms unfolding in a relaxed rhythm; the interior architecture, executed in robust natural materials, offers the clarity and simplicity associated with modern design and contemporary living.

The project incorporates such advanced strategies as maximizing thermal comfort and energy efficiency, via geothermal and solar components, while addressing resiliency and well-being. Filtered outdoor air circulates throughout the interior, finished with natural, non-toxic materials; construction decisions favored lower carbon materials and structural systems, prioritizing wood over steel, and natural insulation over foam. The outcome is a house that not only supports the aesthetic and domestic aspirations of its residents, but stands as a paradigm for near net-zero sustainable design.