Rough-hewn limestone forms an award-winning residence
Arranged around a square limestone courtyard, this 12,000-square-foot timber frame and limestone house is sited at the edge of a hillside forest. It faces south across a rural valley to one of the prominent peaks in the Blue Mountains of Pennsylvania along a well-known migratory path for eagles and hawks. The architects envisioned the plan of the house as if it had grown out of an old stone courtyard sited upon a natural stone outcropping. Movement toward the house is routed in a southeasterly direction as a choreographed sequence reveals the estate. The house is reached from a narrow drive that winds upward through unmowed fields, a deep forest and a grove of hemlocks. The drive then enters a wood-framed car court, which contrasts with the central stone courtyard to its east. A seemingly natural outcropping of exposed limestone bedrock extends under a stone wall from the entry drive into the square limestone courtyard.
Laminated Douglas fir columns and beams ring the courtyard, adding another layer to the entry sequence. The timber columns are free standing on two sides, but support the roof over the glazed circulation hall of the upper level living areas along the south and east sides of the perimeter. Along the north entry wall, protruding limestone corbels support a Douglas fir roof beam and a shade trellis. Limestone corbels along the upper edge of the courtyard wall also support the low-pitched roofs that extend over the glazed corridor. Terne-coated standing seam stainless steel roofs, weathered to a slate gray, outline the central stone courtyard and the car court. Just under the roof overhangs, clerestory windows provide balancing light to the upper level living areas.