The scale of space such as a measure to look at nature. Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture
10/11/2023.
[Washington] USA
metalocus, JORGE MARTINEZ
metalocus, JORGE MARTINEZ
Architecture studio Scalar Architecture has been commissioned to build a single-family home for a family of writers and producers, on a sloping wooded lot dotted with large rocks located on the east coast of Washington, United States.
The project creates a building that tries to reduce its impact on the land as much as possible: reducing the ecological footprint generated by its occupants (it can only be accessed on foot or in light utility vehicles) and reducing occupation on the land by creating housing from of a compact case that offers attractive interior spaces.
The project creates a building that tries to reduce its impact on the land as much as possible: reducing the ecological footprint generated by its occupants (it can only be accessed on foot or in light utility vehicles) and reducing occupation on the land by creating housing from of a compact case that offers attractive interior spaces.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Roof floor plan. Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture.
Ground floor plan. Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture.
Section plan. Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture.
Section plan. Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture.
Elevation plan. Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture.
Elevation plan. Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture.
Elevation plan. Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture.
Elevation plan. Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture.
The house designed by Scalar Architecture has a program that houses staggered living and dining spaces, two bedrooms, a loft and a southeast-facing porch, in addition to an open central patio, an impluvium, that accentuates the connection between the interior, the porch and the forest, around to which the entire house program is organized.
The result is a compact volume nuanced thanks to an interesting play of large monumental-scale openings on the different facades. Except for the foundation made with reinforced concrete piles, which overcome the slope of the land, the building is built with a wooden structure, heavily insulated to reduce its energy consumption.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
The result is a compact volume nuanced thanks to an interesting play of large monumental-scale openings on the different facades. Except for the foundation made with reinforced concrete piles, which overcome the slope of the land, the building is built with a wooden structure, heavily insulated to reduce its energy consumption.
Forest Retreat by Scalar Architecture. Photograph by Imagen Subliminal.
Description of project by Scalar Architecture
Located in an East Coast forest, a 1,200-square-foot retreat is planned for a family of writers and producers with a minimal ecological footprint. The site, accessible only by foot or light utility vehicle, was chosen in a sloping forest clearing dotted with large boulders and limited topsoil. To reduce space, a compact box offers attractive staggered living and dining spaces, two bedrooms, a loft, and a southeast-facing porch.
Large openings qualify this floating box that adapts to a terrain with vegetation and a rocky slope. One of those openings is a concavity in the roof plane that collects water, light, guides ventilation and further exposes the terrain. With the exception of the dock foundation and a leaf-resistant liner, the structure is constructed entirely of wood, both nominal and engineered, and is heavily insulated with sustainable materials. The openings address southern solar exposure, winter winds from the north and northeast, and a local southwesterly wind in summer.
Exposing a rock on the ground, patio or impluvium serves several functions: it establishes a relationship between the interior, the porch and the forest; produces a clearing for contemplation within the forest clearing for home; and elevates the process of rain and snow that nourish the forest, framing it, increasing it with the surface of the roof and articulating all the spaces around it.
More information
Architects
Scalar Architecture. Julio Salcedo, Principal in Charge, Tomás Rodríguez, Elda Hernández, Sharon Mendoza, Raúl Tenoira.
Project team
Interior Design.- Paul Feldsher.
Structural.- Zen Rill.
Structural.- Zen Rill.
Builder
Bill Haley.
Area
110 sqm.
Dates
Year of Completion.- 2022.
Location
Washington Depot, CT, US.
Manufacturers
Windows.- Andersen.
Materials.- Standing Seam.
Photography
Imagen Subliminal (Miguel de Guzmán + Rocío Romero).
Julio Salcedo. Scalar Architecture
Scalar Architecture is an award-winning international design firm based in New York City. As the term indicates, scalar Architecture operates at a variety of scales collaborating with allied key experts. The fruits of these collaborations are all embracing projects that garner accolades for their transformative solutions, such as the International First Prize for the development of Hamar, Norway, and the Lasso House, which won the Architectural League Young Architect’s Award. In all its ventures, scalar Architecture provides an expansive deployment of architecture and its registers of program, geometry, context, aesthetics, and form.
scalar’s residential experience includes dwellings and housing in Spain, Maine, and New York as well as large-scale sustainable developments in Guatemala and Costa Rica. With expertise in hospitality and commercial projects, scalar’s work also includes hotels in Nicaragua and Honduras, and US restaurants Recess and Flurt. Institutional projects include commissioned designs for the Woodstock Association Museum, the offices of the Dean at Cornell School of Architecture, and an ongoing 100,000 sqf medical building in New York.
scalar Architecture collaborates with multiple international partners, including Regional, a joint venture developing hotels in Central America. Urban and landscape collaborations include the re-development of Hamar, and chosen entries for Build a Better Burb and Elemental Chile, as well as a large cross-programmed sustainable park in Madrid, Spain.
scalar Architecture’s Principal is Julio Salcedo, Licensed Arch. US / EU, LEEP AP. Born in Madrid, Salcedo holds a B.A. in architecture and sculpture from Rice University and a Master of Architecture from Harvard University. He has taught at Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, Syracuse University, Cornell University, and currently at City College as an Associate Professor. In addition to the book Generic Specific Continuum, Salcedo has written numerous articles about the work of scalar Architecture.
Prior to launching his own office, Julio Salcedo worked for Pritzker prize winner Rafael Moneo. He also worked at SOM in New York as Senior Designer for the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle, and for Rick Cook of COOKFOX. He has been a juror for international and national competitions, including AIA awards and the Kay e Sante nan Ayiti Housing Competition in Haiti.
The work of scalar Architecture has been exhibited at the Farnsworth Museum and has been widely published in both the US (Architectural Record, The Architect’s Newspaper, Interior Design, Princeton Architectural Press, Breath, House Beautiful) and abroad in Canada, Germany, Norway, Belgium, Holland, Spain, Thailand, Japan, and China.
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