Surrounded by panoramic forested views in every direction, this structure is conceived as a series of stepped canopies, terraced into the hillside.

The house frames distant views by exposing a wood “umbrella” structure above anchored by a stepped concrete slab below. By aggregating four intersecting timber canopies into a pinwheel 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. Entered through the lowest terrace, the living spaces ow in a continuous loop around four bar 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 separation and connection of three winter gardens. At the moment of greatest transparency, the roof canopies cantilever to the south to provide shading. At the moment of greatest privacy, the structure stacks on top of itself. The resulting aggregation stimulates natural ventilation, passive cooling and heating, yet declares its modernity through expansive cantilevers.

Entered at the lowest point, the house gently steps up on the hillside. Each pavilion is defined internally by a freestanding storage core and by its unique relationship to the stone terraces that define the forested land- scape. A matrix plan is deployed by the bar and L-shaped storage cores made flexible by concealed doors at their ends. The house’s internal arrangement flows in a single movement around these bar and L-shaped bathroom and storage cores. Because no room is compartmentalized and isolated as in a conventional home, every room can be an active space during the day and a quiet space at night.