Private Home

Adams Twp., Pennslyvania

The project is a residence north of Pittsburgh and was designed for a collector of exotic objects and wildlife art. As such the building is as much private museum as it is a house.

The property is fully wooded with larch, oak, maple and other native hardwoods. Adjacent is a 120 acre agricultural preserve that is largely meadow. An intermittent stream which is bridged by the drive flows through the site and is landscaped as a bio-swale. A trail leads from the house across a bridge through the forest to a fire-circle which opens onto the meadow and a view of a nearby town in the distance.

The outdoor spaces adjacent to the house are formally designed and paved with herringbone pattern bricks, sandstone borders and curbing. Surrounding plantings are native species arranged with the topography and selected as understory infill to the mature trees. Several large bronze sculptures of wildlife were incorporated in the terraces and along the drive.

Traditionally inspired but not rigorously historical the forms of the exterior are derived from eighteenth century French and nineteenth century English Country architecture. Likewise the house is built using durable materials: brick, rustic sandstone with carved trim, slate roofing and copper sheet metal. The walls are treated as masses with openings punched out and trimmed or emerging as dominate elements. The most significant is the over-sized entry pediment which is composed of self-supporting stone and intentionally impressive. Steeply pitched slate roofs shelter the walls and provide large interior spaces and usable floor areas on the second floor.