This new house located on a 5-acre suburban site was designed for a small family who did not want to move out of the city. While this new location works better for schools and their children’s activities, they wanted their house to feel and operate as an urban dwelling. The challenge of this project was to create suburban architecture that evokes a sense of urban living.

KUBE’s solution was to de-construct the typical suburban residence and reimagine its possibilities. Materials familiar to the urban environment were utilized as the material palette, and the structure is “pulled apart” - composed of two offset volumes that overlap in a large 2-story space. One volume is grounded, and the other “floats,” with a steel bridge connecting the two, and overlooking the main living spaces. The grounded volume contains a guest suite below and children’s rooms above, while the cantilevered volume contains the Master Suite, with a large glass wall that looks out to the trees. The main living space has a long span of folding doors that open up to the large rear deck, integrating interior and exterior. Radiant heat operates efficiently throughout the house, with an engineered fan in the main living space circulating fresh air.

This project reimagines suburban architecture by transforming its plan, relationship to site, and material palette. The new house is muscular and substantial, with exposed steel structure and large glass panels. This structural and material strategy breaks free of the typical wood-framed suburban house, usually a closed “box” that has no relationship to its site. The plan is open rather than divided, with flexibility built in for future in-law suite or one-story living. The house and site operate as an integrated composition, rather than as separate elements.