This contemporary residence sited nestled on a deep wooded site in Minnetonka USA, designed by ALTUS Architecture + Design for a young family. The landscape was sculpted to create a series of flat activity spaces extending the house into the site from the main and lower levels. This site design included a ‘land pier’ with a terrace off the kitchen, shaping the transition between the main and lower level grade. The flat play spaces are maintained grass while the land pier and perimeter areas are a low maintenance fescue grass for natural sustainability.
The non-maintenance exterior is composed of folded planes of black concrete block as a sculptural base, which is expressed inside the house. The upper level contains the bedroom wing and a play space over the garage. These two forms rest on the black base as ochre and gray fiber cement panels. The aluminum windows create expansive views on the main level and draw in natural light through clerestory glass on the upper level. – ALTUS Architecture + Design
