Boulder House

Willow, NY
800 Sq. Ft.
Retreat / Cabin

In Design Development; Construction Start 2022

Design Drivers & Key Moves

• Provide a private short-term retreat from city life for a retired single person

• Accommodate large-scale daytime entertainment with minimal footprint given to overnight accommodations

• Develop a contemporary formal and material language to compliment local vernacular sheep barns and the dry bluestone walls that surround the site

• Hunker down into the sloping site to shield the home from the road while opening downhill to the creek

• Script a journey across the site and through house that reveals views slowly

• Embrace existing large boulders and deciduous trees as the foreground for deeper views

• Center the house on a wood-burning hearth that also provides underfloor heating for the entire building

• Provide thermal performance greatly in excess of code requirements within a minimized envelope