This vacation house, set in the rolling hills of California's Napa Valley, looks fairly simple in its discreet, low-rise form and utilitarian material palette. Yet as its authors, San Francisco-based husband-and-wife team Lisa Iwamoto and Craig Scott of IwamotoScott Architects, reveal, the process of creating its perfectly streamlined forms was anything but.
The programme comprises four basic zones, including living, dining and kitchen; master bedroom; the children's bedroom; and the yoga room and guest bath. ‘The four programme blocks are each a different size and proportion, necessitating an interdependent resultant geometry. A parametric relationship was developed, whereby the form of the hexagon adapts to the varying position and sizing of the four blocks. In section, the six roof planes slope downward toward the central rhombus court, each yielding a different pitch', explain the architects.
This complex geometry is also part of what the architects love about this project. ‘[Our favourite part] is the way the geometric form of the house synthesises its different spaces into a simple-yet-complex whole – a whole that feels both autonomous or imported and highly site-specific at the same time. This plays out with the relatively simple and unified overall form of the building yielding complex experiential effects and play between the outward pull of the surrounding landscape and inward pull toward the more pure geometry of the central court – a condition best understood as a truly four-dimensional experience, in moving about the house.’
The house, spanning a fairly modest 200sq m, is shaped like a donut.
The commission for Goto House came from a client who had in the past purchased a home that included IwamotoScott's work. He decided to use their expertise in his new-built countryside retreat, allowing them to test a few different design directions first, before settling on a solution that ‘felt the least familiar/comfortable but most intriguing and compelling to him’, recalls Scott.
The structure, a hexagonal donut-shaped volume, was designed around the plot's signature 360-degree views. Making the most of the long vistas, the architects positioned the house's public areas near the building's outer edges, adding swathes of glass and large openings, while also cutting out timber-lined terraces from where the residents can admire the beautiful views, from mountains in the distance to a nearby lake.
The residence's private areas, such as bedrooms and bathrooms, are located nearer the inner walls, looking into the clearing at the building's heart. This centrally placed opening has been designed as a Japanese style garden, creating a sense of serenity and warmth. Still, the house's dynamic shape is visible everywhere, shaped by unexpected angles and confident lines, which are offset by the structure's restrained colour and material palette – metal and timber cladding externally, and white plastered interior walls. A swimming pool, added just outside the main house, makes for the ideal spot to take a dip, refresh and appreciate the surrounding nature.
In addition to its forward-thinking design, the house is completely off-grid, adding an interesting, sustainability-focused twist to the architects and owners' contemporary approach. The layout was designed with natural ventilation in mind, which the residents prefer to use whenever possible. A photovoltaic system is also placed on site – on top of the complex's garage – to attend to the building's energy needs.
The result? A striking contemporary structure that manages to be at the same time subtle and strong, while sitting lightly on the beautifully rugged natural landscape of Napa County.
The hexagonal volume was defined based on views and orientation.
The house is clad in grey metal and rich, dark timber.
The outer walls feature swathes of glass and large openings; perfect for the owners to take in views of the surrounding nature.
The sculptural structure feels discreet but its modern design stands out against the rough nature around it.
Inside, the central opening hosts a Japanese style garden.
The more private spaces are orientated towards the inner courtyard.
The architects wanted to make the most out of the plot’s uninterrupted 360-degree views.
The materials inside were kept simple and the colour palette is subtle and neutral, so as not to detract from the picture perfect views out.
Timber-clad terraces were cut out from the overall volume, offering sheltered spots, from where to admire the land and lake waters beyond.
INFORMATION
For more information visit the website of IwamotoScott Architecture
-
This cult Los Angeles pop-up restaurant now has a permanent addressChef Brian Baik’s Corridor 109 makes its permanent debut in Melrose Hill. No surprise, it's now one of the hardest tables in town to book
-
French bistro restaurant Maset channels the ease of the Mediterranean in LondonThis Marylebone restaurant is shaped by the coastal flavours, materials and rhythms of southern France
-
How ethical is Google Street View, asks Jon Rafman in CopenhagenIn 'Report a Concern - the Nine Eyes Archives' at Louisiana Museum of Art, Copenhagen, Jon Rafman considers technology's existential implications
-
Step inside this resilient, river-facing cabin for a life with ‘less stuff’A tough little cabin designed by architects Wittman Estes, with a big view of the Pacific Northwest's Wenatchee River, is the perfect cosy retreat
-
Remembering Robert A.M. Stern, an architect who discovered possibility in the pastIt's easy to dismiss the late architect as a traditionalist. But Stern was, in fact, a design rebel whose buildings were as distinctly grand and buttoned-up as his chalk-striped suits
-
Own an early John Lautner, perched in LA’s Echo Park hillsThe restored and updated Jules Salkin Residence by John Lautner is a unique piece of Californian design heritage, an early private house by the Frank Lloyd Wright acolyte that points to his future iconic status
-
The Stahl House – an icon of mid-century modernism – is for sale in Los AngelesAfter 65 years in the hands of the same family, the home, also known as Case Study House #22, has been listed for $25 million
-
Houston's Ismaili Centre is the most dazzling new building in America. Here's a look insideLondon-based architect Farshid Moussavi designed a new building open to all – and in the process, has created a gleaming new monument
-
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fountainhead will be opened to the public for the first timeThe home, a defining example of the architect’s vision for American design, has been acquired by the Mississippi Museum of Art, which will open it to the public, giving visitors the chance to experience Frank Lloyd Wright’s genius firsthand
-
Clad in terracotta, these new Williamsburg homes blend loft living and an organic feelThe Williamsburg homes inside 103 Grand Street, designed by Brooklyn-based architects Of Possible, bring together elegant interiors and dramatic outdoor space in a slick, stacked volume
-
This ethereal Miami residence sprouted out of a wild, jungle-like gardenA Miami couple tapped local firm Brillhart Architecture to design them a house that merged Florida vernacular, Paul Rudolph and 'too many plants to count’
