Rooted in the vernacular.

Set on eight acres of rolling Indiana farmland, the scale, siting and language of this second home and artist’s studio is rooted in the vernacular.

The siting of the project emphasizes the length of the site while taking advantage of its unique features. Communal spaces are wrapped with floor to ceiling window walls with long views toward the open meadows. Private spaces are absorbed into the building and the more protected and densely planted portion of the site.

Two sixteen-foot wide gable-roofed volumes are connected and mediated by the floating entry boardwalk. The painted wood siding wraps from the exterior to interior, emphasizing the autonomy of the volumes while blurring the boundary of inside and out. The internal steel framework provides rhythm and scale, while the concrete floors and douglas fir plywood provide tactility and warmth.

The simple forms, materials and modest scale that compose the architectural palette are complementary and consistent with the program and place of this humble project.

Photography: Tom Rossiter