Glen Ellen Residence
Located on a 10 acre vineyard and scrub oak site, this single family residence was designed to integrate the foundations and roof of a small existing house into a new architectural composition.
The new residence is composed of three iconic metal-roofed gabled wings that are connected by an open cedar lined arcade and a steel and cedar trellis. The house and the new pool and landscape design define an outdoor courtyard that is planted with four high canopied trees that provide shade during the hot summer months.
The major circulation arcade rendered in sustainably grown and FSC certified clear cedar is thought of as the glue that binds disparate architectural elements together. The warmth of the cedar acts as a foil to the dark painted siding and metal roofing that define the volumetric elements of the project. The cedar used in this area was lightly bleached and then stained to match the wood tone of the custom wood doors in the arcade.
Exacting craft and a sense of material richness are evident throughout the project. Wood plays a major role in the material palette of the house and takes the form of: exterior cedar siding, cedar trellis material, cedar grape stake fencing, painted wood trim and interior siding, painted exposed Douglass Fir roof trusses, painted Pine ceiling boards, painted wood cabinets, white washed oak wood flooring and Ipe wood pool decking.
Other elements of the material palette are stained and painted wood windows and doors, steel windows, painted composite siding, blackened steel details, Galvalume standing seam roofing and board formed concrete.
Alluding to the project’s modernist leanings, the free plan kitchen, dining, and living zone is contrasted spatially by the more cellular make up of the bedroom and garage wings – the courtyard and the restrained palette of materials provide a sense of stasis for the project.
Passive and active solar strategies, the re use of existing foundations and structure, the use of FSC certified and sustainably harvested wood and sustainable products such as composite siding, metal roofing and clad windows and doors combine to create a maintenance free exterior and an environmentally responsible building.