A married couple whose grown son comes for visits occasionally were determined to “break free” (their words) from the traditional, “soul deadening” (ditto) residential development where they lived.

Modernists at heart, they longed for a quiet, secluded place in the woods where they could build a modern but simple, unpretentious, age-in-place house in which every square foot would be custom-designed for their lifestyle, their needs and dreams, and their passion for privacy.

After they found the perfect hide-away site in the forest, they turned to Chapel Hill, NC, architect Arielle Condoret Schechter, AIA, to help them realize their dream. They knew her reputation for designing precisely the kind of house they imagined. They also knew she could make their dream home Net Zero so that it would use only as much energy as it produces by renewable methods. So they could “age in place” without energy bills.

Besides the qualities already mentioned, the couple had one very specific request for their new home: They wanted “a sheltered place to sit outside and watch the rain.”

Under construction now, the result is a compact modern house for two, plus a bedroom for their son when he visits. The simple form, elevated where necessary to follow the natural contours of the land, is composed of three rectilinear volumes. Each volume is defined by its individual flat roofs. Roof overhangs around the entire house protect the windows and the large expanses of glazing that provide constant visual contact with the natural setting.

At the central volume, however, a large, deeply cantilevered roof reaches out to the south, shading walls of glass there, yes, but also providing shelter for the couple’s very private back porch where they will be able to “sit outside and watch the rain.”

Schechter oriented the house on its site to maximize solar gain, natural light, and natural ventilation (the latter when weather permits). Then she supported a small solar array on the roof with an over-abundance of insulation, sealed air gaps, an Energy Recovery Ventilator, cement board exterior cladding, windows and doors certified for passive house construction, and the roof overhangs – all to assure that the house will produce as much energy as it needs.

Inside, zero thresholds, curb-free showers, and oversized doorways are part of what will make this an age-in-place home.

For this modern house, Schechter is also using exterior blocks of primary colors as architectural elements, recalling the Netherlands-based De Stijl movement of the mid-1900s. De Stijl devotees believed that harmony and order could only be established by reducing elements to pure geometric forms and primary colors.

How fitting for a modern yet simple, unpretentious and utterly private house in the woods for two.