House In

The Field

4

Location: 
Bellingham, WA
Size: 
2,500 Sq. Ft.
Client: 
Private
Awards: 

This 2,500 Sq. Ft. home is strung along the precipice of a curious knoll amidst 70-acres of pastureland in rural Whatcom County. Dotting the surrounding landscape are conventional vernacular structures one would expect to see; steeply pitched farmhouses, barns, silos and cattle fences. This property is grazing ground for dairy cows and the owner a dairy farmer by profession. This home, however, is less a result of convention than of a specific response to client, land, and view. It is composed of a series of shallow-pitched, low-lying forms stretched across the knoll, engaging the topography to create a variety of interior and exterior living spaces.

To lessen its visual impact, the three-car garage is partially buried and nearly invisible from the road. Exposed timbers, glulam beams, glass, cedar siding and stone are the predominant exterior materials. The same can be said of the interior, less the cedar, with gypsum walls and polished (radiant heat) concrete floors. The resulting composition ñ a juxtaposition of angles, forms, and materials shaping light-filled, open spaces - is both dynamic and serene.

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