COUNTRY HOUSE
Architect: Endemic Architecture
Surveyor: Lodestart Engineering & Surveying, Inc.
Septic Design: CalState Engineering
Status: Unbuilt
The Country House, located on a rural hillside south of Ione, California, is a 3,000-square-foot, two-story residential commissioned proposal designed for a 1.5-acre site overlooking a pristine nature preserve. The project explores the concept of the "purlieu"—a historic term for landscapes that sit somewhere between fully cultivated farmland and completely wild terrain. This thematic focus guides the playful manipulation of conventional architectural elements like the porch, roof, and chimney to heighten the connection between the structure and its natural surroundings.
The defining feature of the home is a wrap-through porch conceived as a dramatic, subtractive void carved completely through the ground floor. This central carve bridges the northern and southern outdoor terraces, handles the main entryways, and allows the surrounding landscape to visually flow through
The defining feature of the home is a wrap-through porch conceived as a dramatic, subtractive void carved completely through the ground floor. This central carve bridges the northern and southern outdoor terraces, handles the main entryways, and allows the surrounding landscape to visually flow through
the center of the home. Positioned precisely where the home bends to reorient toward the nature preserve, this clever shift also aligns the lower-level garage with the public street for seamless vehicle access while keeping the guest suite private.
Rising through the core of the house, a sculptural central chimney functions as a high-volume ventilation shaft, using a whole-house fan to pull fresh air upward and passively cool both floors without the need for extensive mechanical ductwork. Coupled with fire-resistive materials, this decreases the possibility of embers being drawn into the roof cavity through the soffits.
Rising through the core of the house, a sculptural central chimney functions as a high-volume ventilation shaft, using a whole-house fan to pull fresh air upward and passively cool both floors without the need for extensive mechanical ductwork. Coupled with fire-resistive materials, this decreases the possibility of embers being drawn into the roof cavity through the soffits.
