This environmentally sustainable second home draws upon local vernacular architecture of Cape Cod houses and the casual beach shack, while retaining vestiges of the previous house. It is composed of three volumes: bedroom wing, indoor living space, and outdoor living area. The windswept landscape, spectacular views, and fragile ecosystem informed careful placement and configuration of the house with its multiple outdoor living areas.

The Grasslands home was born out of and celebrates the beautiful but fragile grassland ecology of the Carmel Valley. Our client’s desire to actively simplify his lifestyle to the most essential elements inclusive of space clearly drove sensibilities in the design. In addition the home features a precision, derived from the client’s love of flight, a grounded-ness from his love of books and the love of his horse. To meet the simplistic beauty of the scope, the home consists of three interconnected glass pavilions and a detached barn which wrap to the bowl shape of the land. The pavilions are comprised of a master suite, a library/living room, kitchen, and a meditation sanctuary; the barn, his horse and car. The design focuses on preserving the delicate ecosystem of the surrounding grasslands, while concurrently incorporate views and maximize solar orientation. In support, the pavilions sit on the perimeter of an existing bowl shaped depression in the hillside. Three primary landscape walls run parallel to the topography, emphasizing the shape and spatial definition of the land as well as providing locations to anchor the structures. Pulled up and out of the landscape, the buildings jut over the anchor walls, hovering above the native grasses. In section, the land appears to flow through the pavilions, undisturbed and collaborative to the architecture.

The Grasslands home was born out of and celebrates the beautiful but fragile grassland ecology of the Carmel Valley. Our client’s desire to actively simplify his lifestyle to the most essential elements inclusive of space clearly drove sensibilities in the design. In addition the home features a precision, derived from the client’s love of flight, a grounded-ness from his love of books and the love of his horse. To meet the simplistic beauty of the scope, the home consists of three interconnected glass pavilions and a detached barn which wrap to the bowl shape of the land. The pavilions are comprised of a master suite, a library/living room, kitchen, and a meditation sanctuary; the barn, his horse and car. The design focuses on preserving the delicate ecosystem of the surrounding grasslands, while concurrently incorporate views and maximize solar orientation. In support, the pavilions sit on the perimeter of an existing bowl shaped depression in the hillside. Three primary landscape walls run parallel to the topography, emphasizing the shape and spatial definition of the land as well as providing locations to anchor the structures. Pulled up and out of the landscape, the buildings jut over the anchor walls, hovering above the native grasses. In section, the land appears to flow through the pavilions, undisturbed and collaborative to the architecture.

Photo by Dirtworks, PC
Photo of a modern partial sun landscaping in New York with decking for summer.

The Grasslands home was born out of and celebrates the beautiful but fragile grassland ecology of the Carmel Valley. Our client’s desire to actively simplify his lifestyle to the most essential elements inclusive of space clearly drove sensibilities in the design. In addition the home features a precision, derived from the client’s love of flight, a grounded-ness from his love of books and the love of his horse. To meet the simplistic beauty of the scope, the home consists of three interconnected glass pavilions and a detached barn which wrap to the bowl shape of the land. The pavilions are comprised of a master suite, a library/living room, kitchen, and a meditation sanctuary; the barn, his horse and car. The design focuses on preserving the delicate ecosystem of the surrounding grasslands, while concurrently incorporate views and maximize solar orientation. In support, the pavilions sit on the perimeter of an existing bowl shaped depression in the hillside. Three primary landscape walls run parallel to the topography, emphasizing the shape and spatial definition of the land as well as providing locations to anchor the structures. Pulled up and out of the landscape, the buildings jut over the anchor walls, hovering above the native grasses. In section, the land appears to flow through the pavilions, undisturbed and collaborative to the architecture.

The Grasslands home was born out of and celebrates the beautiful but fragile grassland ecology of the Carmel Valley. Our client’s desire to actively simplify his lifestyle to the most essential elements inclusive of space clearly drove sensibilities in the design. In addition the home features a precision, derived from the client’s love of flight, a grounded-ness from his love of books and the love of his horse. To meet the simplistic beauty of the scope, the home consists of three interconnected glass pavilions and a detached barn which wrap to the bowl shape of the land. The pavilions are comprised of a master suite, a library/living room, kitchen, and a meditation sanctuary; the barn, his horse and car. The design focuses on preserving the delicate ecosystem of the surrounding grasslands, while concurrently incorporate views and maximize solar orientation. In support, the pavilions sit on the perimeter of an existing bowl shaped depression in the hillside. Three primary landscape walls run parallel to the topography, emphasizing the shape and spatial definition of the land as well as providing locations to anchor the structures. Pulled up and out of the landscape, the buildings jut over the anchor walls, hovering above the native grasses. In section, the land appears to flow through the pavilions, undisturbed and collaborative to the architecture.

Photo by Dirtworks, PC
Photo of a modern partial sun landscaping in New York with decking for summer.

Photo by Dirtworks, PC
Inspiration for a modern partial sun landscaping in New York with decking for summer.

Photo by Dirtworks, PC
Inspiration for a modern partial sun landscaping in New York with decking for summer.

Photo by Dirtworks, PC
Photo of a modern partial sun landscaping in New York with decking for summer.

Photo by Dirtworks, PC
This is an example of a modern partial sun landscaping in New York with decking for summer.

This environmentally sustainable second home draws upon local vernacular architecture of Cape Cod houses and the casual beach shack, while retaining vestiges of the previous house. It is composed of three volumes: bedroom wing, indoor living space, and outdoor living area. The windswept landscape, spectacular views, and fragile ecosystem informed careful placement and configuration of the house with its multiple outdoor living areas.

This environmentally sustainable second home draws upon local vernacular architecture of Cape Cod houses and the casual beach shack, while retaining vestiges of the previous house. It is composed of three volumes: bedroom wing, indoor living space, and outdoor living area. The windswept landscape, spectacular views, and fragile ecosystem informed careful placement and configuration of the house with its multiple outdoor living areas.

This environmentally sustainable second home draws upon local vernacular architecture of Cape Cod houses and the casual beach shack, while retaining vestiges of the previous house. It is composed of three volumes: bedroom wing, indoor living space, and outdoor living area. The windswept landscape, spectacular views, and fragile ecosystem informed careful placement and configuration of the house with its multiple outdoor living areas.

This environmentally sustainable second home draws upon local vernacular architecture of Cape Cod houses and the casual beach shack, while retaining vestiges of the previous house. It is composed of three volumes: bedroom wing, indoor living space, and outdoor living area. The windswept landscape, spectacular views, and fragile ecosystem informed careful placement and configuration of the house with its multiple outdoor living areas.

This environmentally sustainable second home draws upon local vernacular architecture of Cape Cod houses and the casual beach shack, while retaining vestiges of the previous house. It is composed of three volumes: bedroom wing, indoor living space, and outdoor living area. The windswept landscape, spectacular views, and fragile ecosystem informed careful placement and configuration of the house with its multiple outdoor living areas.

Photo by Dirtworks, PC
Photo of a modern partial sun landscaping in New York with decking for summer.

Flying Bug. Metal body and stainless steel wings with a hand blown iridescent blue glass body. Wingspan approximately 30", different glass colours and finishes available.

Sited on a wooded parcel of land along Florida’s southwest Gulf coast, the home is designed to maintain the delicate balance between a fragile wetlands ecosystem where land meets water. Three grandfather oak trees, each measuring over 40 inches in diameter, serve as silent landmarks in this subtropical paradise. The house describes the balance between the natural and man-made environments. The principal gathering spaces are defined by series of walls that splay apart, like a fanned deck of cards, giving an unfolding view of the landmark trees on the site. Overhead, the raked roof plane reinforces direction, emphasis, and explodes interior rooms to the exterior living spaces.