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Architects: CCY Architects
Client: Mark and Sarah Iola
General Contractor: Clearwater Construction
Photographer: Jeremy Bittermann

Nestled into a meadow above a mountain stream, this house minimizes environmental and visual impact on the natural landscape by embedding in the land rather than asserting itself on it.

The clients purchased the property with the intention of living there full-time. It was important that they have a base for sharing the natural and cultural amenities of the area with their numerous guests in an unpretentious atmosphere. The required program included six bedrooms, game room, bowling alley, movie theater, catering kitchen, and an outdoor living room. They also challenged us to make the house appear as small as possible; we further challenged ourselves to be as light on the land as possible.

Positioning a large house in a traditional way would not meet the goals. Analyzing the site profile, we discovered that a large part of the program could be inserted under the meadow and capture the tranquil sound of the river below, even though it isn't visible. The quality of the sound - and the fact that it is heard all night - helped the clients embrace locating the five guest bedrooms primarily subgrade. In a related gesture, an upper meadow is extended over the master suite and support spaces, tucked under a planted roof.

The result is that only the living areas and an office - a small portion of the program - appear as the built expression on the land. The forms are quiet, opening up subtly. The living room roof creates a scoop for the sounds of the river, bringing them deep inside. The office mirrors the living room, opening up to the south. On approach, this small structure set in native grasses is all that's visible, and only fully reveals itself as part of a larger composition upon entering the auto court. The areas anchored into the meadow are clad in pre-cast concrete panels, cast on site. The rest of the complex is clad in dark charred wood, contrasting with the concrete. Along with areas of glass and steel accents, these define the material palette. The house lives large, but the visual expression is minimal; the sound of the river was the medium that edited the house's size.

In this climactic zone space heating is by far the largest energy use. The primary sustainable feature is placing 77% of the floor area subgrade, providing substantial energy savings and resulting in an energy footprint of a much smaller house. The entry and living areas have large windows, however, much of the program has minimal or no glazing. In total, 19% of the wall areas are glazed, providing a very high-performing thermal envelope. In the master suite, for instance, minimal skylights bring light through the planted roof, washing walls and creating a soothing counterbalance to the traditional windows. The planted roof filters rain and snow runoff for water quality. The driveway is gravel to minimize impervious surfaces, and all site drainage is captured on-site.