ARCHITECT: Anmahian Winton Architects Nick Winton, AIA; Alex Anmahian, AIA; Makoto Abe, Project Architect, Sydney Thiel, LEED AP; Mazen Sakr, Designer
PHOTOS: Jane Messinger
LOCATION: Red Rock, New York, USA

Surrounded by dense forest, this beautiful property in rural New York was loaded with potential. But due to the steep topography, there wasn’t any obvious building site per se. That’s where Anmahian Winton Architects and the landscape architects from Reed Hilderbrand came in. Together, they developed a design strategy to create a tangible building site and a more sustainable forest.

“Reed Hilderbrand created a comprehensive plan for clearing, planting, and septic systems that breathed new life into the site,” explains Nick Winton, partner at Anmahian Winton Architects.

This landscape strategy then became a strong starting point for the two new buildings to engage with the landscape in dramatic ways. “The guest house clings to a 200-foot-long concrete retaining wall, while the main house projects out from the land and opens up to the forest,” says Winton.

Connecting these two structures is a bluestone path, which also leads to a cantilevered balcony in the treetops. Since the new volumes are so simple in shape, the architects wanted to balance that with refined detailing and textured siding.

“Our approach to the envelope was to create a highly efficient rainscreen whose details balance precision and rusticity,” says Winton, whose firm has won many notable awards for projects with complex wood rainscreens. Which is where Western Red Cedar comes in. All exterior wood surfaces of the Red Rock House and guest house are clad in a blend of knotty Western Red Cedar.

“The boards are custom milled from mixed grades and with several unique profiles to generate patterns and shadows that change with the sun’s movement,” he says, before explaining why he chose nature’s most versatile building material for this project. “Western Red Cedar is a great wood species for precise milling, excellent weathering, longevity and character.”

WRC SPECIFICATIONS
GRADE: Select knotty and D&Btr clear Western Red Cedar
SIZE: Three custom profile tongue and groove boards
FASTENING: Stainless steel fasteners
APPLIED FINISH: Penofin Verde Ebony

Get the full story behind more wooded wonders like this in Cedar Book 8. Download a PDF or order a free hardcopy today: https://www.realcedar.com/cedarbook/