The house in Blair, Wisconsin was originally designed as guest quarters for a rambling farm house. The owners were so enthralled that they turned it into their own home and reserved the old house for visitors. The home connects to the land like thehistoric barns that are seeded through the landscape thanks to the locally sourced, rough oak clad exterior and simple shape.
The vestibule wall on the west entrance is angled to evoke an old leaning barn, and the large porch is well protected from the afternoon sun, which glows through the slats during sunsets. Southern windows allow sunlight and heat into the space, which is absorbed by the concrete floor. The floor has radiant tube that is heated by a solar thermal system and a ground source heat pump.
The interior continues thebarn vernacular with a “hay loft” lifted above the main floor and a bedroom below in the “grain cellar”. Interior lights and doors are set with ropes and pulleys, and the few large openings control light and egress with cabled awnings and sliding doors. A metal box and ash strip walls and ceilings form the interior rooms, which are finished with diamond tread steel, bamboo and concrete flooring.
The balance of quirky details and materials with a clear vision and pragmatic and energy-efficient design is notable in a diverse group of homes in this year’s AIA Housing Awards.
+ Alchemy Architects
+ 2011 AIA Housing Awards
