The building site of the Lookout House had a significant influence on the design for this house. Layered with intense geologic history at the base of a three-million-year-old volcano, the site is a north-facing 20-degree slope with equal parts refuge and prospect at 6,300 feet above mean sea level.
Consisting of volcanic sediment from ancient flows and strewn with boulders up to 15 feet in diameter, the site is in an open stand of second-growth Jeffrey Pine and White Fir trees. The vertical, plumb lines of the tree trunks, stripped bare from years of deep snow fall, reach for the light. Standing upright at an angle to the slope, they provide a constant reference to the perpendicular horizon in the distance.
The harsh winters leave the ground sparse yet partially covered with a mat of pine needles and cones. Large waist-high clusters of manzanita group together and climb the slope in an organic, opportunistic pattern.
About Falkner Architects
Faulkner Architects was formed by Greg Faulkner in 1998 to pursue the making of highly crafted, site sensitive places. Emphasis is placed on an interactive process between Architect, Client and Builder through the duration of the project, that allows the inhabitants to be intimately involved with the design. A strong commitment to the quality of every project is evident in the buildings and professional relationships. Repeat projects for clients that become friends make up a third of the work. Evolution of the design through construction is an integral part of the process.
The work begins with listening to the client and understanding their ultimate goals for the project. A measured response emerges after careful consideration and observation. The designs are affected by vernacular traditions drawn from the culture of the place in which the project is to be built. These traditions impart wisdom to materiality, formal massing and most importantly, provide an overriding common sense view of building in an appropriate way.
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