Analog House in Truckee, California by Olson Kundig

Article source: Olson Kundig

Designed in collaboration with the client – an architect based in Truckee – Analog House celebrates a rugged, high desert site populated by ponderosa pine, manzanita and exposed basalt. The home’s footprint meanders through the understory, deliberately shaped to preserve existing specimen trees and create a protected internal courtyard. Extensive transparency and clerestory windows throughout the home provide access to views and daylight, while numerous indoor/outdoor connections link occupants to their surroundings, an important consider for this active family.

Image Courtesy © Joe Fletcher

• Architects: Olson Kundig
• Project: Analog House
• Location: Truckee, California
• Photography: Joe Fletcher
• Design Principal: Tom Kundig, FAIA, RIBA
• Project Manager/Project Architect: Steve Grim, AIA, LEED AP BD+C
• Client and Collaborating Designer: Greg Faulkner / Faulkner Architects
• General Contractor: Rickenbach Development and Construction
• Civil Engineer: Shaw Engineering
• Size: 5,430 SF
• Complete: 2019

Image Courtesy © Joe Fletcher

The interior palette features concrete and steel, punctuated by kinetic devices that engage both the built environment and natural context. Just inside the home’s entry, a steel mesh stair wall works with upper-level clerestory windows to invite daylight into interior spaces while providing visual and textural interest. The powder room sink references Japanese bamboo fountains, also known as sōzu, reimagining a standard off-the-shelf shower valve as a unique, gravity-responsive faucet. Dining room lights hang from custom bent steel armatures that organize and conceal electrical cords. Bridging the kitchen and exterior wrap-around porch, a custom fireplace can be converted to an Argentinian grill via hand-cranked mechanisms.

The glass-walled “forest hall” connects the kitchen and dining wing to the living room and master suite through a tree-lined procession with views to the surrounding woods on all sides. Clerestory windows line the living room, suffusing the space with natural light, while a cantilevered steel roof provides cover for an exterior patio. A discreet entry leads into the master suite, which includes an intimate sitting room, open casework closet, sleeping area and bath. The custom bed, designed by the client, faces the trees, while the master bath incorporates a private slot view as well as a protected courtyard.

Image Courtesy © Joe Fletcher

Image Courtesy © Joe Fletcher

The “treehouse,” a three-story tower, rises above the main volume of the home. Solid steel cladding grants privacy to the tower’s street-facing north side, transitioning to large areas of transparency on the other sides of the tower, which are protected by year-round tree cover. The treehouse provides bedrooms and attached baths for guests as well as a roof-top deck with views to Northstar Ski Resort.

“This house has been shaped both functionally and poetically by the mature ponderosa pines trees that occupy the site. In the same way that you would weave through the trees on a forest walk, this home changes direction to respect and make way for the trees.” –Tom Kundig, FAIA, RIBA, Design Principal

Image Courtesy © Joe Fletcher

Image Courtesy © Joe Fletcher

Image Courtesy © Joe Fletcher

Image Courtesy © Joe Fletcher

Image Courtesy © Joe Fletcher

Image Courtesy © Joe Fletcher

Image Courtesy © Joe Fletcher

Image Courtesy © Olson Kundig

Image Courtesy © Olson Kundig

Image Courtesy © Olson Kundig

Image Courtesy © Olson Kundig

Tags: California, Truckee

Categories: House, Residential

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 8th, 2022 at 6:57 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.