Nestled on a Northern California hillside, this private residence negotiates its complex undulating site with great sensitivity and earnestness. Structures are arranged to exploit the site’s diversity of views, foliage, and topography.

The design embodies the agrarian character of an active farm, reflecting its owners' sensibility and ethos. Approached through a winding shaded drive, the home presents itself modestly amongst heritage oaks and a steep wooded hillside. Structures are composed of local fieldstone, concrete, and steel, enabling a reciprocal relationship to the natural terrain and working farm. The home is composed of a series of indoor and covered outdoor spaces, each with a distinct relationship to the landscape. Negotiating the site’s topographic complexity, each wing affords unique views and diurnal rhythms. With dramatic valley views and a sunny courtyard, the home encourages an active outdoor lifestyle.

Building upon a lifelong interest in agriculture, the clients’ primary goal was to live in an ecologically sensitive manner. This translates to building a home on an existing farm, continuing to maintain and invest in agricultural infrastructure, and weaving the home’s programmatic elements with the topography to best harvest daylight, create defensible space against fire, and shelter against wind. The clients were committed to building a sustainable home that would last for generations.

The home allows the clients to immerse themselves in agrarian living. Produce is harvested year-round and funneled through the central courtyard into a secondary wet storage room before making its way into the dry storage or kitchen. As such, the materials chosen for the residence are hardy and living in that they will patina over time with little maintenance. Living spaces that open completely to the exterior reflect the clients’ wish to be stewards of the land.

Sited in an area with a recent history of wildfires, the design was conceived with great awareness towards sustainability and longevity. On a macro level, the residence is built on the pads of previous structures to minimize disruption to the landscape, and as such negotiates complex shifts in existing grade. In addition to meeting fire-safe standards for building assemblies, the home is equipped with an external sprinkler system and surrounded by drought-tolerant planting. A large-scale water collection system provides water for agricultural irrigation, fire mitigation, and domestic use.

The residence embraces biophilic design to maximize the occupants’ comfort and connection to nature. It utilizes the thermal mass of stone and concrete to buffer against high heat, and high-performance glazing to maximize daylight. Indoor air quality and the ability to passively cool the home, is controlled with operable glazing leading to exterior decks and terraces. During periods of extreme heat or poor air quality, the home is mechanically cooled using energy from the rooftop solar PV array.