Twisted Ridge is a family home and guest house located on a hilltop just outside of New York State’s Hudson Valley. The property is an 11 acre site, but while large parcels of land can create the feeling of endless possibilities, the site’s zoning constraints limited the placement of the structure. When overlaid, there was only a quarter acre available for the placement of the home.

Fortunately, the location, which is close to the edge of the property, was favorable to one of the main design concepts: capturing as much of the mountain views as possible. All three of the bedrooms on the second floor of the main residence, as well as the gathering spaces of both the main residence and guest house are oriented towards views of the mountains. Large windows frame the vistas, inviting light into the space, and bring in mountain energy to the family’s daily life.

Another main design element of Twisted Ridge is the geometric placement of the family home in relation to the guest house. We chose to separate the guest wing, an ADU, from the main house. Shifting the back the ADU maintains privacy for both the family and guests, as well as creates an edge condition. The courtyard houses a pool and hot tub at the opposite corner, while at the center of the geometry, a fire pit creates a center of gravity for the family and their guests to come together.

The sunken courtyard features a special detail: it is flanked by walls made with gabion baskets filled with shale discovered on site during construction.⁠ Rather than discarding this beautiful material, we collaborated with Bayview Landscape Architecture to repurpose it in a way that grounds the courtyard in its natural surroundings. ⁠

The final main design concept—a unique, defining feature of the home—is the roof. We took the traditional A-frame and twisted it so that the ridge would be set at a diagonal. Due to the amount of snowfall in the area, a pitched roof is most effective as it allows snow to easily slide off during inclement weather. The twisted roofs also create more surface area for future solar panel installation. Lastly, the undulating geometry calls back to the surrounding mountains, poetically reflecting the landscape in the home.