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	Photos © Peter Vanderwarker PLUS: Site plan, Floor plan, Section

In a wooded landscape in Amherst, Mass, the collaborative efforts between a young couple and architect Nick Winton of Anmahian-Winton Architects have created a simple yet smartly detailed home. When the young couple presented the architect with their tree-covered, three-and-a-half acre plot on which to build, Winton enlisted the help of a landscape architect to discuss the siting strategy. "We were all intrigued by the possibilities of this untouched site," explains Winton, "the entire area was fairly level with not much grading. Once we decided where to build the structure, we cleared a wide swath of white pine trees and undergrowth. Light and views were created immediately." Two retaining walls, created from rubble stone, were built almost parallel to one another and became the basis for the formal ground plan.

Winton’s clients, both with artistic backgrounds, had a strong desire to make their house a creative outlet which would be within their limited budget. Winton describes the results as "willfully lo-tech" and goes on to clarify that while the couple had "financial constraints, they gave us no architectural constraints." To keep costs modest, the architect and the clients agreed that the best approach for the house would be to maximize design where it mattered most. This methodology is largely apparent in both the façade and the public areas of the residence.

The character of the house’s exterior is meant to, as Winton describes, "establish a direct relationship with its wooded surroundings." The west façade is composed of fir columns that help support a two-story porch. The upper-portion of the porch, attached to the master bedroom, is wrapped in cedar slats. The cedar wrapping aids in shading this portion of the house. The lower portion of the porch, attached to the main living area, is screened. Alternate façades of the house, covered in vertical and horizontal cedar boards, are made to appear denser.

The connection to the outdoors into the interior is achieved by Winton’s use of pine throughout the house. Inside, a continuous wall of white pine runs the length of the house. "The wall is punctuated by differently shaped openings that lead to the utilitarian portions of the house," says Winton, " one opening leads to the kitchen, another leads to a den, and another opening in the wall is used as a bookcase." The top floor, which accommodates three bedrooms, follows the same layout.

White pine is once again utilized in the construction of a double-height, semi-transparent lattice box. Winton explains that this primary element "acts as an organizing device, provides vertical circulation, and also serves as an interior light source." The two-story box separates the living and family rooms and also contains the open steel-frame stairwell. Light trickles through the white pine lattice from the skylights located in the ceiling above. The stairwell not only serves as a luminous spatial connection between the floors, but it also is a visually striking counterpoint to the wooden box in which it is contained. In accordance with the decision to keep costs low by maximizing design where it mattered most, Winton has created a house that has been able to connect with its wooded surroundings and to delight its residents.

By Randi Greenberg

Gross square footage
2,800 sq. ft.

Total construction cost
$390,000

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