Architecture Wednesday

I like minimal houses. They're clean and simple, but also really quite elegant. And, when they're also kind of green, and kind of disappear into the environment--making it difficult for unwanted houseguests to find your house--well, sign me up.

Peter Gluck, the designer of this Lakeside Retreat, wanted to create an “experience” and not just a house. And I think he's done that with this home, in New York's Adirondack Mountains. Now, to be fair, this is one 'mutha' of a house, encompassing some 21,000 square feet of living and recreational space. 

It consists of two buried buildings, one a family house and the other a recreation building with an interior courtyard, amphitheater, gallery, and indoor pool. Amphitheater? let';s get Mickey and Judy and put on a show!!!

Now, while it may seem a bit egotistical to bury a house, the steep, sloped lot practically necessitated the concept. The entire compound, house, party pad, with two guest houses, 2,200 square foot boathouse, and walking trails, fulfills the same purpose as the nearby Adirondack great camps that cropped up in the mid- to late 19th century.

Gluck, while he opted not to "recreate" those log-and-stone Swiss Chalet–style camps of a century ago, did use local materials to make the home a part of its surrounding. And he insists of preserving those surrounding, for both owners and guests.

Visitors arrive at a 4,800-square-foot gatehouse garage, which is removed from the compound, and they switch their vehicles for electric golf carts. Then they travel along descending paths that lead to two 1,600-square-foot, one-bedroom guest houses—complete with small kitchens and composed of stacked and rotated boxlike volumes. From there, they continue along toward the lake, catching glimpses of the main house, which seems to appear and disappear from the landscape. 

By placing so much living and recreational space underground, the architect reduced energy loads with passive geothermal heating and cooling. Rainwater is retained via the green roof areas, which, from the sky look a little miniature golf course-ish.
In the recreational building, dappled light from wood-screened windows and a skylight illuminate the indoor lap pool. The family house with its master suite is more private, but feels very natural, with it's treehouse looking sleeping porches. 
All in all, it's peaceful, and green, and cozy, even for such a large house. Of course, a big plus for me, would be in telling guests that Carlos is outside mowing.....the roof.

via Architectural Record