Artreehoose / Della Valle Bernheimer

Aug 2010

Uploaded by Nico Saieh — Filed under: Houses ,Selected , AD Project Insights, Della Valle + Bernheimer, Steel, USA, Wood

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Architects: Della Valle Bernheimer
Location: Lake Candlewood, New Fairfield, CT, USA
Partner in Charge: Andrew Bernheimer
Project Manager: Erik Helgen
Project Team: Jared Della Valle, Brian Butterfield, Adam Ruedig, Suzanne Stefan
Contractor: Hammersmith Inc.
Project Area: 5,400 sq ft
Project Year: 2007-2008
Photographs: Richard Barnes

Wedged into a tight lot along Lake Candlewood in New Fairfield, Connecticut, this new home’s form and structure was derived from observations of trees and an adaptation of local building techniques. The project began with studies of leaf canopies, accumulated ring structures, and the dappled light that filters through groups of trees. Multiple study models in several media (concrete, acrylic, wood, plaster), investigated how light flows through perforations in these various materials. We used these models to observe, secondarily, how certain materials would be suited to creating a stable, discrete, but minimal structure. During the formative process we were interested in designing a house that seemed in large part to float and protect, much like the tree canopies on the site shelter the ground beneath them.

ground floor plan

second floor plan

The final design, a house of 5,400 square feet, involved an intense collaboration with Guy Nordenson and Associates, Structural Engineers. Together we developed a unique structural system of long-span ¾” x 16” x 27’ plywood joists which work in tandem with a series of steel Verendiel trusses that rest on solid billets of steel. The joists, made from scarf-jointed Douglas fir, assembled into 4’ wide panels using steel stiffening pipes to join and stabilize the plywood before being lifted into place. The slim columns on which the steel truss structure and this joist system rest support the cantilevered volumes which are clad in red cedar. This cedar is deployed on the exterior in two different techniques: First, it is installed with a vertical board and batten technique to exaggerate the appearance that the house was assembled as a series of stacked pieces, like the rings of a tree. On obverse faces the wood is installed in a jointless tongue and groove fashion.

Organized around the central double-height volume spanned by the special long-span wood joists, the ground floor is primarily wrapped in monumental sliding glass panels, opening up the house and connecting the inside, quite literally, to the outside. The mobility of these panels exaggerates the weight of the two cantilevered volumes above.

Upstairs, two cantilevers contain the bedrooms. These spaces jut out over the lake like the prow of a boat and protrude into the surrounding trees themselves. Carefully located skylights illuminate the great room and each of the upstairs spaces, as if light were coming through gaps in tree branches.

Products in this project

Bathroom Equipment: GFSSI, RIFRA

Bathroom plumbing fixtures by GFSSI
Bathroom plumbing fittings by RIFRA

Construction materials, Semi-finished materials: BioBased Systems, LLC

Insulation by BioBased Systems, LLC

Floor: Stone Source, Ann Sacks

Flooring by Stone Source
Flooring by Ann Sacks

Heating and Ventilation: Viessmann, WIRSBO

HVAC equipment by Viessmann
HVAC equipment by WIRSBO

Joinery: Rajack, FSB, Fleetwood Windows & Doors

Hardware by Rajack
Hardware by FSB
Windows by Fleetwood Windows & Doors

Kitchen Equipment: Sub Zero, Schiffini, Bosch, Dornbracht, Gaggenau, Dacor

Refrigerator by Sub Zero
Kitchen plumbing fittings by Schiffini
Countertops by Schiffini
Dishwasher by Bosch
Kitchen plumbing fixtures by Dornbracht
Kitchen cabinets by Schiffini
Cooktop by Gaggenau
Oven or range by Dacor

Lighting, Heating, Home/building automation: Bega, NOLUX

Lighting fixtures by Bega
Lighting fixtures by NOLUX

Walls: Benjamin Moore

Paints/stains/wall finishes by Benjamin Moore

: © Richard Barnes

: © Richard Barnes

: © Richard Barnes

: © Richard Barnes

: © Richard Barnes

: © Richard Barnes

: © Richard Barnes

: © Richard Barnes

: © Richard Barnes

: © Richard Barnes

: site plan

: ground floor plan

: second floor plan

* Location to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.

Cite:
Saieh , Nico . "Artreehoose / Della Valle Bernheimer" 23 Aug 2010. ArchDaily. Accessed 09 Feb 2012. <http://www.archdaily.com/74068>

Comments (2)
Tweets (21)
Links to this entry (1)

Pierre says:

Would anyone know anything about the wood exterior finishing?
What company, color, anything?

# August 23, 2010 at 18:31

up_today_arch says:

Ceilings solutions looks like Aalto interiors… very nice and to the point.

# August 24, 2010 at 04:40

6:40 AM Aug 23rd

Bocetos Digitales

Artreehoose / Della Valle Bernheimer: © Richard BarnesArchitects: Della Valle Bernheimer Location: Lake Candlewood… http://bit.ly/bLfmVq

arhitectura

Artreehoose / Della Valle Bernheimer: © Richard BarnesArchitects: Della Valle Bernheimer Location: Lake Cand… http://tinyurl.com/24xzse4

DEZIGN

Artreehoose / Della Valle Bernheimer: © Richard BarnesArchitects: Della Valle Bernheimer Location: Lake Candlewood… http://bit.ly/c3sLq9

6:58 AM Aug 23rd

Architecture+Molding

Artreehoose / Della Valle Bernheimer: Architects: Della Valle Bernheimer Location: Lake Candlewood, New Fairfield,… http://bit.ly/bLfmVq

7:18 AM Aug 23rd

ulisses duarte

RT @moldingdesign: Artreehoose / Della Valle Bernheimer: Architects: Della Valle Bernheimer Location: Lake Candlewood, New Fairfield,… http://bit.ly/bLfmVq

7:38 AM Aug 23rd

Leashed Living

Absurdly beautiful home – http://bit.ly/awW6jq

7:54 AM Aug 23rd

Dave L. Gagnon

Artreehoose / Della Valle Bernheimer | ArchDaily http://t.co/xO8kasy via @archdaily

10:07 AM Aug 23rd

Brice Orlandini

Calme et volupté… http://j.mp/cN5RhE #archi

10:41 AM Aug 23rd

André Amaral

Artreehoose / Della Valle Bernheimer | ArchDaily http://t.co/nZ5XJUj via @archdaily