Low to the ground and high on a hill is the Roxbury House, marrying art and landscape in intimate moments and broad gestures. Located so as to minimize site disturbance and maximize views, the Roxbury House expresses a oneness with its site. Deep roof overhangs mirror the slope of the topography, expanding the interior experience beyond the built extents of the home. The lines between art and landscape are similarly blurred; between the home’s shifting volumes, two nestled courtyards showcase both built and natural environments.
Positioned uphill at the edge of its twelve-acre property, the home allows prevailing winds and cool breezes to move through each room for consistent natural ventilation. The angled roofs and large overhangs lift the ceilings, direct views to nature, and bounce natural light deep into the spaces while minimizing solar heat gain. The roofs also are part of a larger rainwater management system that guides stormwater out of sight to a series of rain gardens downhill, mitigating erosion along the steep terrain.
The clients, art gallery owners, wanted the flexibility to use their home as an extension of their New York gallery, while also leaving portions of the site open for outdoor art installations. To achieve an open and natural flow of space while simultaneously providing varied opportunities for art display, the program was organized as an oscillating cluster of volumes that meander around two courtyards. This allows the courtyards to become “outdoor rooms” embedded within the home, providing alternating views to nature and art.
Layers of light and materials link spaces together, while curated moments of transparency culminate in distant landscape views. In this way, natural materials perform as art, and art merges into the landscape. The courtyard’s native birch trees exemplify this blend in their performance both as column and tree, architecture and landscape. The birch trees are a threshold, blurring the boundaries between the natural and built elements of the site.
The exterior is clad in lightly charred cedar wood with a technique known as “shou sugi ban.” This traditional Japanese method of charring wood makes the façade bug, rot, and fire resistant. Shou sugi ban wood is carried inside on the walls & ceilings as well, blurring boundaries between indoors and outdoors. Distinctive Raku-crackled ceramic tile walls resemble the shou sugi ban wood texturing, strengthening the material connection throughout the home.
