The project is a home in Hammondville, AL for a couple and their daughter on farmland owned by their family for more than a century. The new house - sited in the shadow of the mule barn his grandfather and great-grandfather built - represents an opportunity for the clients to live and grow into that special place, and add their own thread to the tapestry of stories and memories that precede them there.

The house is sited such that its prominence in the existing pastureland is balanced by a sense of its being thoughtfully integrated into the natural contours of the landscape. The structure feels simultaneously modern and timeless. Despite its decidedly modern aesthetic, it strives above all to blend gracefully into its context. It aims to appear as though it has always been there and intends to remain there for a long time yet. Its high-performance and subtly elegant aluminum siding is carefully selected to harmonize with the ubiquitous corrugated metal siding found elsewhere on the farm and throughout the community. Its roof pitch is set to match the neighboring mule barn. And its interior wood ceiling was milled from the enormous oak that fell on the property shortly before we commenced design.

Inside, the 3-bed/2.5-bath home feels cozy and calm, and yet vibrant. The high-ceilinged, plain-modern interior receives abundant natural light from windows and skylight wells and provides ample views of the rolling pastures and hills beyond. Extensive use of natural interior finish materials imparts a spare yet warm aesthetic highly conducive to contemplation. Bright and colorful accents and details pop against this raw and unassuming backdrop.

Outdoor spaces are integral to the home. Landscaping makes heavy use of deciduous and fruit trees and other native vegetation, with cues taken from the existing flora on site and along nearby Big Wills Creek. These exterior elements work in concert to draw the eye and the body out of doors and enhance the sense of seamless integration between the house and its place.

This commitment to the outdoors is most powerfully evident in the decision to separate the kitchen, living and dining volume from the bedroom volume with an open-air courtyard, resulting in a house that is impossible to walk across without stepping outside. (Perhaps we call this form the “wet dog-trot”?) Connectivity between the volumes is maintained with smart home integrations and intercom, and carefully located doors and windows that maintain a single unbroken sightline - if you know where to look for it - from the kitchen at one end of the house to the master bedroom at the other.

The space supports the clients’ love of entertaining groups of ten or more – the yearly Decoration Day softball crowd fits right in – without sacrificing the sense of comfort and coziness their nuclear family enjoys in the house from day to day. The living area provides an inviting space to play, relax, read, watch TV, and gather as a family. Cooking is essential to the life of the home, and the main entrance is near the kitchen. A dedicated office space (that transitions at need into a guest bedroom) allows for effective work from home.

The house should feel as much like the clients’ daughter’s home as her parents’. It is designed to be adaptable to her (and her parents’) changing needs for space and proximity as she grows from early childhood through adolescence and into young adulthood.

In its choice of materials, mechanical & electrical systems, and layout, the house maximizes energy performance. The house is solar-ready when the clients decide to pursue a transition to alternative energy.