This modern home utilizes warm materials, natural light and innovative materials to achieve spa-like living for a family in Upstate New York. Natural ventilation, solar photovoltaics, efficient radiant systems, and tight envelope design help achieve energy efficient architecture.

The easy floor plan is an innovative example of space efficiency and creates alluring passages throughout the home. Cultural expressions of the owners’ Japanese backgrounds are presented in formal entryway accented with natural elements, a sunken foyer, a bathing area separate from a simple powder room, and reminders and hints of the site elements that give the house a place in the environment.

Massing of this highly modern design highlights subtleties between varied materials refined into timeless relationships on a woodsy hilltop. Corrugated metal, white-washed cedar and painted fiber cement board clad the three boxes of the garage, public living space, and the private quarters bridging the house.