In 2007, the clients asked us to design a weaving studio on their property and to specifically NOT relate it to, or consider in any way, the existing log- and stone-sided home. After completing the weaving studio, the clients then asked us to redo the the house to match what we had done on the studio within the same foot print and existing shape.
Without changing much about the fundamental layout of windows, doors, and walls, we inserted a contemporary look, feel and layout that takes better advantage of the interior and exterior spaces. Calmer contemporary materials that match the studio — dark stained cedar siding, smooth architectural concrete, aluminum store front windows and doors, and white metal panels — tone down the structure’s formerly rustic exterior; a similar approach is taken to the interior. While the walls mostly remain in their original configuration, subtle changes to the layout such as opening up walls to let in more light and using a soothing fir paneling for cabinetry make the space fresher and more functional.
Larger gestures on the site create an additional connection to the studio, as well as providing a new sense of flow through the site. Before knowing we would be redoing the house, we inserted into the site a large concrete wall that separates the studio from the house and creates an independent access to the studio, higher up on the hill. Now the issue was to tie them back together. We ripped off the log and stone entry porch and replaced it with a sleek cantilevered aluminum clad canopy. We brought more concrete walls into the entry as well: a series of angled concrete volumes is carefully placed to connect the two buildings, suggesting entry and movement in a subtle, grounded way, and providing shelter, privacy, and a sense of gravity to the newly-remade entrance.
