A new, modern triangle-shaped retreat peeks out from the rich, forested countryside around Lake Placid in the USA. The A-Frame house, a distinct residential typology often found in North America that blends modernist architecture and local vernacular traditions, was created by Minneapolis studio Strand Design. It is at once humble and memorable; a simple, timber structure embedded in idyllic, green Upstate New York nature.
The project, a relatively compact structure set along the wooded shorelines of a lake, was a commission by a private client who was after a retreat from the hustle and bustle of their primary city residence. The idea of an escape – something clean and unfussy that encourages connections to nature and relaxation – was a key driver in the design. ‘Warmth and volume are abundant, utilizing natural timbers and exposed structural members spanning the full height of it's dramatic form,' the architects say.
A-frame house makes year-round cabin
The structure is made using a simple material palette: bonderised standing seam-steel roof panels, black corrugated steel panels, black lap siding, natural fir, ground and polished concrete. The architects essentially offered a contemporary take on the vernacular Northwoods A-frame cabin, in an old-meets-new architectural approach. Meanwhile dark colours, timber exterior cladding and a sense of verticality (through the upward direction of the triangular façade and the cladding planks) help the building feel at home in the wooded surrounds.
The team at Strand Design are deft hands at creating homes that flourish within natural landscapes and green architectural gardens – often crafting homes in green expanses and forests areas, harnessing the power of their surroundings to maximum effect.
In this Upstate New York project, Strand Design took a similar approach. At once an open summer cabin and a cosy winter log house, for an owner who is planning to use the getaway year-round, this Lake Placid A-Frame house is simple and versatile, and fully in sync with its green environment.
INFORMATION
-
'Design at its most ambitious': meet the 2025 Royal Designers for IndustryThe Royal Society for Arts announces the five new Royal Designers for Industry as well as two Honorary Royal Designers for Industry
-
A new art museum brings colour, quirk and a celebration of creativity to DohaLawh Wa Qalam: M. F. Husain Museum is awash with colour and character, courtesy of Indian architect Martand Khosla and the Qatar Foundation
-
Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekThis week, the Wallpaper* team had its finger on the pulse of architecture, interiors and fashion – while also scooping the latest on the Radiohead reunion and London’s buzziest pizza
-
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’
-
Tour Cano House, a Los Angeles home like no other, full of colour and quirkCano House is a case study for tranquil city living, cantilevering cleverly over a steep site in LA’s Mount Washington and fusing California modernism with contemporary flair
-
An ocean-facing Montauk house is 'a coming-of-age, a celebration, a lair'A Montauk house on Hither Hills, designed by Hampton architects Oza Sabbeth, is wrapped in timber and connects its residents with the ocean
-
With a freshly expanded arts centre at Dartmouth College, Snøhetta brings levity to the Ivy LeagueThe revamped Hopkins Center for the Arts – a prototype for the Met Opera house in New York –has unveiled its gleaming new update
