Baxter Imaging, LLC

Lindsay Nichols Photography

Nigel Rigden (www.nigrig.com)

Peter Clarke

For this house “contextual” means focusing the good view and taking the bad view out of focus. In order to accomplish this, the form of the house was inspired by horse blinders. Conceived as two tubes with directed views, one tube is for entertaining and the other one for sleeping. Directly across the street from the house is a lake, “the good view.” On all other sides of the house are neighbors of very close proximity which cause privacy issues and unpleasant views – “the bad view.” Thus the sides and rear are mostly solid in order to block out the less desirable views and the front is completely transparent in order to frame and capture the lake – “horse blinders.” There are several sustainable features in the house’s detailing. The entire structure is made of pre-fabricated recycled steel and concrete. Through the extensive use of high tech and super efficient glass, both as windows and clerestories, there is no need for artificial light during the day. The heating for the building is provided by a radiant system composed of several hundred feet of tubes filled with hot water embedded into the concrete floors. The façade is made up of composite board that is held away from the skin in order to create ventilated façade. This ventilation helps to control the temperature of the building envelope and a more stable temperature indoors. Photo Credit: Alistair Tutton

photo by Susan Teare

Thomas Watkins

Tom Powel Imaging

As a Queen Anne Victorian, the decorative façade of this residence was restored while the interior was completely reconfigured to honor a contemporary lifestyle. The hinged "bay window" garage door is a primary component in the renovation. Given the parameters of preserving the historic character, the motorized swinging doors were constructed to match the original bay window. Though the exterior appearance was maintained, the upper two units were combined into one residence creating an opportunity to open the space allowing for light to fill the house from front to back. An expansive North facing window and door system frames the view of downtown and connects the living spaces to a large deck. The skylit stair winds through the house beginning as a grounded feature of the entry and becoming more transparent as the wood and steel structure are exposed and illuminated. Ken Gutmaker, Photography

©2012 Jens Gerbitz www.seeing256.com

Simon Devitt

軽井沢　森を包む家｜Studio tanpopo-gumi 撮影｜野口 兼史 ゲストルーム用シャワールーム

Photos Courtesy of Sharon Risedorph