Faulkner architects has designed a family retreat for a hard-working AIDS researcher based in New York City. The home, which is immersed in the natural landscape of Truckee in California, intends to bring restorative calm upon its inhabitants, prioritising closeness with nature and leaving raw materials exposed.
‘Don’t hurt the boulders’, said the client, who wanted the house to be gentle on its environment and respectful as possible to its site – a former flood field on the edge of an evergreen forest that meets with a spring-fed creek at the base of a dormant volcano. Consequently, the home cantilevers over boulders and trees grow close to its boundaries. Its exterior is surrounded by small patios and a pebble-lined pool encouraging an easy outdoor existence upon its inhabitants.
The interior spaces are layered and almost modular, connecting large private spaces with smaller communal areas – the house prioritises privacy for its inhabitants, a multi-generational family, yet it is also democratic – each member of the client’s family contributed ideas for the design of the house.
Take an interactive tour of Creek House
The circulation of the plan allows movement from quieter darker spaces, to lighter exposed moments such as the spaces where floor to ceiling glazing opens up views of dark green evergreen trees or the surrounding rocky landscape. The architects were inspired by Junichiro Tanizaki’s essay ‘In Praise of Shadow’ with the architectural progression between dark and light.
Exposed and often raw materials include steel, rift-sawn oak, bluestone and white gypsum. The whole house pivots on a large concrete wall, that extends beyond the walls of the house, out into the landscape. The device provides the client with privacy desired as well as shading the house and the exterior spaces from the sun.
The sprawling house was designed as a restorative retreat for a New Yorker.
Around the exterior of the house concrete platforms and a pebble-lined pool encourage outdoor living. The architects were inspired by a pool they had seen in Spain that was fed by rainwater through a channel that could be opened and closed.
The modules of the house were designed for the client’s multi-generational family.
The south-facing site sits at the edge of an evergreen forest, meeting a spring-fed creek at the base of an ancient volcano.
Concrete walls provide privacy and protection from the sun.
Each member of the client’s family contributed in ideas for the design of the house.
Materials used in the interior include steel and rift-sawn oak.
Floor-to-ceiling windows feature throughout the design of the house.
Exposed concrete, bluestone and white gypsum walls feature across the retreat.
The house shows influence of Japanese minimalist design.
Views of the surrounding landscape within which the house is immersed are framed by glazing.
-
A new Athens gallery is a celebration of old and new, a stone's throw from the AcropolisNew Athens gallery Melas Martinos by Local Local is a contemporary art space, a stone's throw from the Acropolis, in the Greek capital's Monastiraki neighbourhood
-
Haute Couture Week A/W 2025: live updates from the Wallpaper* teamFrom 7-9 July, Haute Couture Week A/W 2025 arrives in Paris. Follow along for a first look at the shows, presentations and other fashion happenings, as seen by the Wallpaper* editors
-
Boundaries between art and life dissolve in Katherine Hubbard's intimate documentation of her mother's illnessIn 'The Great Room', Katherine Hubbard merges caregiving for her mother with an unflinching documentary of the process
-
A Rancho Mirage home is in tune with its location and its architect-owners' passionsArchitect Steven Harris and his collaborator and husband, designer Lucien Rees Roberts have built a home in Rancho Mirage, surrounded by some of America’s most iconic mid-century modern works; they invited us on a tour
-
Inside Frank Lloyd Wright’s Laurent House – a project built with accessibility at its heartThe dwelling, which you can visit in Illinois, is a classic example of Wright’s Usonian architecture, and was also built for a client with a disability long before accessibility was widely considered
-
Tour this fire-resilient minimalist weekend retreat in CaliforniaA minimalist weekend retreat was designed as a counterpoint to a San Francisco pied-à-terre; Edmonds + Lee Architects’ Amnesia House in Napa Valley is a place for making memories
-
A New Zealand house on a rugged beach exemplifies architect Tom Kundig's approach in rich, yet understated luxuryThis coastal home, featured in 'Tom Kundig: Complete Houses', a new book launch in the autumn by Monacelli Press, is a perfect example of its author's approach to understated luxury. We spoke to Tom Kundig, the architect behind it
-
Tour architect Paul Schweikher’s house, a Chicago midcentury masterpieceNow hidden in the Chicago suburbs, architect Paul Schweikher's former home and studio is an understated midcentury masterpiece; we explore it, revisiting a story from the Wallpaper* archives, first published in April 2009
-
The world of Bart Prince, where architecture is born from the inside outFor the Albuquerque architect Bart Prince, function trumps form, and all building starts from the inside out; we revisit a profile from the Wallpaper* archive, first published in April 2009
-
Is embracing nature the key to a more fire-resilient Los Angeles? These landscape architects think soFor some, an executive order issued by California governor Gavin Newsom does little to address the complexities of living within an urban-wildland interface
-
Hop on this Fire Island Pines tour, marking Pride Month and the start of the summerA Fire Island Pines tour through the work of architecture studio BOND is hosted by The American Institute of Architects New York in celebration of Pride Month; join the fun
