Taking advantage of panoramic views in every direction, this structure is conceived as a series of interconnected canopies, stepped into the hillside.

The house frames distant views by expos- ing a wood “umbrella” structure above anchored by a stepped concrete slab below. By aggregating six intersecting timber canopies into a honeycombed structure, an exterior courtyard is de ned that negotiates competing demands between distant east and west views, while capturing the winter sun into living spaces. To the west, an entrance canopy connects the exterior courtyard to the surrounding natural context.

Entered by this exterior covered terrace, the living spaces ow in a continuous loop around four T and L shaped storage cores that define the different activities of daily living, while an undulating exterior topography negotiates internal privacy and transparency to the surrounding natural context.

Inside, each volume is optimized for views, solar access, and the daily requirements of living. The varying degrees of public and private spaces correspond to the degree of transparency in the envelope and solar orientation. At the moment of greatest transparency, the roof canopies cantilever to the south to provide shading. At the moment of greatest privacy, the surrounding topography swallows the structure into the hillside. By burrowing the structure into the hillside, the earth increases the structure’s thermal insulation from the elements. The resulting aggregation stimulates natural ventilation, passive cooling and heating, yet declares its modernity through expansive cantilevers.

Entered at the highest point, the house gently steps down on the hillside. Each pavilion is de ned internally by a free-standing storage core and by its unique relationship to the distant landscape and topography.
A matrix plan is deployed by the T and L shaped storage cores made flexible by concealed doors at their ends.