The roof is the defining feature of shelter and home. Here, the roof is shaped to exploit perspectival effects, its form appearing to change from different points of view, evoking a temple on a hill or a sharp, abstracted plane. The roof is also designed to perform – shading the interior in summer, when the sun is high, while allowing warm winter sun deep into the house, when the sun is low.

Setup as a house within a house, the main functions are divided between the two floors so the owners, a couple with children who are largely out of the home, can live almost entirely on the upper level. This nesting is emphasized almost graphically where the peaked living room ceiling intersects the kitchen wall, forming a scaled-down, house profile in black woodwork.

The main, upper-level houses a wood-lined foyer, powder room, main suite (bedroom, dressing room, study, and bathroom), kitchen/living/dining, and a sitting room, and a guest room. Three guest bedrooms downstairs have walkout access to the outside, laundry and a large gym.

The house is designed to reduce energy consumption and meet the Department of Energy’s Zero Energy Ready Homes (ZERH) program in its siting, orientation, glazing strategy and energy usage. This home will consume zero energy with electrical power supplied by a solar array.