This single-family home design is located in a densely forested lot where the edge of a rocky hill meets a wide and shallow creek in upstate New York. The concept for the 1600 sqft residence is the desire to create an artful home that responds to the topography of the landscape and is refined into an extension of the surrounding environment’s materiality.

The approach is an extended threshold created by a loose path that weaves through the scattered trees. This path leads into a modestly carved concrete stair which amplifies the feeling of emerging from the topography. The stepping of the interior matches the pre-existing topography and the kitchen overlooks the double height living space floating just above the river. Next to the flow of the river is a foot bridge extending into the trees beyond, acting as the central spine to the home.

From one perspective, the home disappears into the landscape and from another, it emerges out of the surrounding stone. The home itself is an assembly of reused and locally-sourced materials that balances the excavation and construction as the structure is an extension and not a displacement of nature.