Sited on the crest of a hill with commanding views of Laurel Highlands in western Pennsylvania, this solar heated house was designed for an artist, a writer and their daughter. The house is a complex of three individual buildings: an art studio, a writer’s cottage, and the main house, which contains an art gallery and library wing. The buildings align with the forest edge where it meets an open field and in some places step back from the tree line. A garden wall creates an outdoor corridor connecting the buildings, and opening in the wall set a rhythm that focuses on an old split rail fence in the center of the complex.
The wheat fields extend to the south wall of the house, and hunt trails cut through the woods to the north, where a stepped deck affords views of gathered equestrians. Windows in the art studio and the writer’s cottage face each other across a small semi-circular clearing in the trees. Inside, native woods used for the floors, cabinets, and ceiling combine with the plaster walls, soap stone, and slate tiles and a palette of rich greens, oranges, and browns. Together these create an exotic setting in harmony with the literary and artistic work of the owners.
Centerbrook received two design awards for the project, from AIA Connecticut and Award of Excellence from Architectural Record Magazine.