Foxridge Residence
Located on a 5 acre site surrounded by a mature oak and meadow landscape, this residence was conceived of as grouping of iconic metal-roofed agrarian forms. Landscape elements comprised of walls, trellises, decks, planters and stairs ground these forms to their site and provide a compositional clarity for the project.
The composition of buildings provides for a variety of interstitial, courtyard and adjacent spaces allowing for the creation of a rich variety of exterior habitable domestic spaces. Primary views are in the West and East directions – the composition of the plan allows the natural site to flow unrestricted on the East/West axis through the site.
The largest of the buildings – conceived of as the “big barn” – houses the primary living/entertaining functions and is rendered as one continuous space with an object in the middle. Alluding to the project’s modernist leanings, the free plan nature of this plan diagram is contrasted spatially by the more cellular make up of the remaining building forms.
One enters the complex from the auto court through a transitional threshold defined by a cedar grape stake fence and a steel trellis and is immediately confronted by the animated North elevation of the “big barn”. This crafted facade introduces one to the exterior material pallet of the project – a board formed concrete wall transitions to a steel window/spandrel system which in turn transitions to a clad aluminum sliding door assembly. These three elements are capped with an exaggerated metal flashing, composite lap siding and a standing seam metal roof.
The clients requested a residence that was environmentally responsible, maintenance friendly and fire resistant. To that end – passive solar strategies, sustainably harvested wood, composite siding, metal roofing, steel and clad wood windows and doors, and board formed concrete are all integral to the project.
Exacting craft and a quiet sense of material richness are evident throughout the interior and exterior of the project creating a foil that enhances an appreciation of the surrounding natural landscape.