Olson Kundig Architects - Studhorse
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Studhorse

Olson Kundig Architects

House  /  Completed
Olson Kundig Architects
Set in the remote Methow Valley, Studhorse responds to the clients’ desire to experience and interact with the surrounding environment throughout all four seasons. Riffing on the tradition of circling wagons, the buildings – four small, unattached structures – are scattered around a central courtyard and pool. The 20-acre site is nestled in the northern portion of the 60-mile-long glacial valley and the buildings are arranged to frame carefully composed views of the surrounding Studhorse Ridge Mountains and Pearrygin Lake.

Studhorse exemplifies the architect’s belief that the experience of place is paramount. Traditional boundaries between the built structures and their surroundings are purposefully blurred—large expanses of walls slide, pivot and raise to open to the structures to the outside—offering multiple opportunities for the clients to experience the site and nature. With the four buildings oriented to spill open to the central courtyard, the design is oriented toward family life and entertaining.

Public areas, including the family room, kitchen and bar are grouped together in the main building. Private areas – the master bedroom, kids’ bedroom, and den – are separated in an adjacent structure, with guest rooms in yet another isolated building to allow for independent use. A sauna sits removed from the cluster of activity with a framed view looking out over the valley below.

Tough building materials, mostly steel and glass, were utilized to stand up to the equally tough environmental conditions– from hot, fire-prone summers to winters with heavy snow pack. The wood siding used throughout the project was salvaged from an old barn. The varying tones of the wood reveal its history and use. Over time, as the wood and steel weather, the home will become more and more muted in appearance, blending into the landscape.

Great consideration was taken to minimize disturbance of the site and surrounding area. Placement of the buildings is clustered to allow for the rest of site to remain in its native state, and to maintain the natural landscape as close to the buildings as possible. The majority of staging was confined to the project patio and driveway and, after completion, the natural landscape was restored where needed.

Ground source heat pumps, the most efficient system available for converting energy input into heating and cooling, are used to reduce the energy usage of the house. Most of the buildings have radiant floor heating in the cold months and chilled floors in the hot months. In the bedrooms, forced air heating and cooling are also provided by the ground source heat pump.

Credits

 Winthrop, Washington
 Confidential
 07/2012
 379 mq
 Design Principal: Tom Kundig
 Design Principal: Tom Kundig, Project Manager: Mark Olthoff, Staff: Gus Lynch, Interior Design: Debbie Kennedy
 Schuchart Dow Construction
 MCE Structural Consultants, Structural Engineer
 Ben Benschneider

Curriculum

Olson Kundig is a Seattle-based design practice founded on the ideas that buildings can serve as a bridge between nature, culture and people, and that inspiring surroundings have a positive effect on people’s lives. Led by five owners with a staff of 150, the firm’s work can be found across the globe, with projects as wide ranging from cabins to high rises, homes—often for art collectors—to academic, cultural and civic projects, museums and exhibition design, spiritual places, urban design and interior design.
Among the firm’s accolades are the 2009 National AIA Architecture Firm Award; dozens of design awards from the American Institute of Architects; American Architecture Awards from the Chicago Athenaeum; Jim Olson’s 2007 Seattle Medal of Honor; and Tom Kundig’s National Design Award from the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt and his Academy Award in Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Olson and Kundig were inducted into the Interior Design Hall of Fame in 2012.

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Tag

#Finalist #America settentrionale  #Stati Uniti  #Acciaio  #Legno  #Vetro  #Residenza  #Olson Kundig Architects  #The Plan Award  #Ben Benschneider  #Washington, USA  #Winthrop 

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