Courtyard House

This house received an AIA Citation Award in 2000 - The American Institute of Architects Central Valley Chapter confers this Award upon the Architect who has designed a significant Work of Architecture

This 4,600 sq.ft. house is situated on a wooded knoll looking over a 100 year old logging reservoir and facing a vista of dramatic mountain peaks. The plan is conceived as a series of vernacular building forms arranged around an existing outcrop of volcanic basalt and century old Jeffrey Pines. This U-shaped configuration forms an internal courtyard which the circulation pattern moves around, thus providing a sense of local domain while separating the public spaces from the more private spaces on either side.

The architectural form is meant to embrace the landscape with the use of a strong ground-form and to present a composition of smaller building elements which nestle comfortably into the stand of existing trees. These forms are expressed with the use of natural building materials and traditional methods of construction. Ebony stained, board-formed concrete with inset site native basalt create the ground form and oversized redwood clapboards sheath the exterior framework. The lower shed roofs are sheathed in flat copper panels while the main roof forms are protected by shingles made of 24” square black floor slate. The texture and colors of these materials will change over time as the building endures seasonal changes in climate. This will allow the building to recede into the natural landscape and express the ruggedness of this mountain environment.