Hillside House

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Within a vast and sweeping sloped site, we had the opportunity to design a home that would be partially submerged into the earth. Sympathetic to the topography, two masses step down the natural slope to maintain the overall low-lying height of the building while maximizing the window area. With passive design strategies in mind, we designed the home to take advantage of south light while protecting from the frigid north winds in the winter. Oriented south, this home takes advantage of endless views of the prairies beyond. The deep roof overhangs serve to create shadow during the long summer days, aiding in excess heat to the interior spaces and framing the oversized outdoor verandah. Predominantly submerged, the north wall of the larger mass limits overall windows to upper clerestories for indirect daylighting into the space, supported by thick ICF walls that function as thermal mass insulating from the fluctuating weather. Rotated to face due south, the lower mass optimizes those endless views, and deliberately forms a protected niche that shield the space from westerly winds. The material palette is also sympathetic to the site, making use of naturally patinating materials, raw metal and bare concrete, that blend into the surrounding environment, changing overtime while remaining highly durable through hot dry summers and freezing cold winters.

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Stay tuned as this project develops!