This mountaintop site in the Mad River region of Vermont, the location for a proposed garage and workshop would, from its second story, offer a million-dollar view of the expansive valley below. This unusual building takes this opportunity to the max.

The building’s first level provides heated and unheated spaces for workshop, garage, and storage. Cantilevered roofs off each side shelter additional work space, and transition visitors to the apartment entry.

Arriving upstairs, the visitor enters between private bed-bath spaces on the uphill side and a generous open kitchen and living area focused on the view. An unusual cantilevered covered porch provides outdoor dining space, and allows the apartment’s living space to extend beyond the garage doors below. A library ladder serves a mini-loft on third level. Above the living area, a large cupola admits wondrous light throughout the day and makes a small footprint feel open, airy, and comfortable.

The flexible interior arrangement accommodates entertaining guests without surrendering the cozy feeling of a mountain cottage, and nothing impedes the million-dollar view.