“In Search of Balance”

Sited upon a coastal dune landscape, this residence seeks proportional balance. Balance between elemental exposure and domestic intimacy.
Balance between the natural and the manmade (in landscape, form, material, to color, texture, furnishings).

Combined Floor plans

Two cross axis are laid down over a long rolling site – one extending and connective; one short, straddling the crest. A vertical shaft (of weathering steel, seemingly roofless) is placed to mark the crossing. Three primary horizontal protective volumes are then placed, two on the ground (of porcelain), one bridging overhead (of wood). The resultant void becomes the fourth, most public volume.

Secondary architectural elements are subsequently introduced, (trellis, screen wall, stepped garden, screened pavilion) extending the house into the landscape, and back. The resultant is a deliberate sequence of domesticated spaces of varied scales, each with specific agendas, microclimates, sounds, smells, effects.
Contrast heightens experience.

© Steve Hall, Hall + Merrick Photographers

• Architects

  Wheeler Kearns Architects

• Location

  Saint Joseph, United States

• Category

  Houses

• Architect

  Wheeler Kearns Architects

• Area

  5750.0 ft2

• Project Year

  2016

• Photographs

  Steve Hall, Hall + Merrick Photographers