The house in Stowe, Vermont is sited at the edge of an elevated meadow embraced by a dense forest and a
wide vista to the surrounding mountains. A new road encircles the pond and brings vehicles through the
forest to the north side of the house, preserving the open feeling of the meadow surrounding the remaining
exposures. As the new road meanders towards the house, the volume of the house is revealed through a
series of composed views; from below, through planned openings between the trees, across the pond and
from higher elevations, as the road cuts through the undulating wooded landscape. An east porch, with
morning light, faces the pond, the dense forest, the vegetable garden and chicken coop with a fenced-in run.
A west porch faces the long mountain vistas and endless sky. Large glazed openings permit views through
the house and, from within, serve to frame curated views of the landscape including the pond, specific
mountains and valleys and the dense forest wall to the north. The house thus acts as a screen mediating
between the two primary sides of the site. The house is tethered to the landscape by a series of sandblasted
concrete walls which help define exterior spaces. The exterior rain-screen siding, is
Alaskan yellow cedar, rendered in grays and browns with an ancient maintenance-free Swedish pine-tar
treatment that shows natural wood variations with an organic sensibility inspired by the forms and tones
present in the surrounding forest. The ground floor consists of two major spaces – an expansive great room
and a family kitchen – connected by a gracious central stair hall. Large sliding glass doors on each side of the
hall create a breezeway connecting the east and west porches. The central stair hall is open four stories
connecting the lower level garage and mudroom, the ground floor public spaces, the second floor bedrooms,
triple-glazed Siberian larch windows and doors, and Passivhaus-level envelope helps the building to
achieve low energy consumption. A whole-house fan utilizes the cool Vermont air to provide natural
ventilation. The roof is planted with a green roof.