Simple Alchemy
by Elisabeth Korb
Some homes achieve excellence via exotic materials, mind-bending design and death-defying craftsmanship. And others just have it. “It’s the fourth dimension, if you will,” says Ryan Group Architects managing principal Scott Ryan of this year’s Outstanding award winner. “It goes beyond product or process to an experiential quality.”
Indeed, you may drive past this Northstar house (dubbed “Capercaillie,” Gaelic for “horse of the woods,” by its owners) without a second look. But step into its 4,044 square feet and it’s clear: Every detail, every space, is sharp, clean, connected, well done—yet not overdone.
The home’s owners, a couple from Marin Country who prefer to remain anonymous, purchased the lot in 2004. “We’ve had a relationship with the region all our lives,” says the homeowner, noting that his great-grandfather owned property in Truckee, his grandfather had a cabin in Cedar Flat and he helped build his parents’ vacation home in Agate Bay. “We knew it was time to be here, and this lot enabled us to leave a vehicle and walk three minutes to the Northstar slopes.”
Viewed from its exterior, the home hugs a centerpiece of pines; a garage adjoins diagonally to the left, and another detached single garage with second-story guest suite sits to the right. All three are angled toward the center of the lot. “It’s a separation of masses in a relatively small envelope,” David Horan, Ryan Group principal and the project’s lead architect, says of the one third–acre homesite. “It creates a sense of place that’s respectful to the community.”
If the design has a single concept, it’s form follows function. Put simply, “the owners didn’t want to create the unnecessary,” says Horan, citing the garages as an example. The couple opted for two one-car garages to save the cluster of trees that are now the focal point of the property. They were adamant about keeping felled trees on site, milling the wood locally, then using the boards to form the home’s exposed concrete walls and floor joists. “There’s a theme of respect and truthfulness throughout,” says the homeowner. “All the concrete has the fingerprint of the trees that once stood where our house is now.”
This truthfulness extends to virtually every aspect of design and construction. The homeowners selected clear-stained cedar siding as the tree is indigenous to the region, used nontoxic glues and formaldehyde-free woods throughout and wanted structural fir rafters exposed. “With the rafters and board-formed concrete, we are taking structural elements and expressing them, not hiding them,” says Horan. “So the structure reveals itself and is understandable. There is something right about that.”
The homeowners desired the ability to live on a single level, much like the
A board-formed concrete wall stands just beyond the front door. It acts as a thermal storage for the sun coming through the entry’s large windows, conceals the stairway and sets the tone for these exposed structural walls throughout the home—one million pounds of concrete in total. Upstairs, an open living, dining and kitchen area connects to a media room, office wing over the attached garage and master suite. A window-lined passageway the homeowner calls “the link” leads to those spaces.
The Sonoma Cast Stone floor pattern here flows seamlessly outdoors to the balcony. These same concrete pavers are used on the back terrace, master bath and balcony, project room off the kitchen and front entry.
"We strived for a consistency throughout,” says the homeowner. Indeed, only five tile designs, all by
The media room, separated by a custom sliding door from the dining area, houses a table with one very special purpose: dominos. “It’s perfect for a very serious game or two,” says the homeowner, whose Marin home boasts a detached one-room structure specifically for domino playing.
The couple dubbed Capercaillie’s simple detached garage/guest suite, “the outstation.” “It’s the nautical equivalent of an outpost,” says the homeowner, an experienced sailor who with friends won the International One Design class in 1999 (and spent a college summer break teaching sailing at Obexer’s Boat Company in
As with any outstanding home, Capercaillie came to be with much collaboration: between its owners, Ryan Group, Loverde Builders superintendant Jay Steinmeyer and the numerous subcontractors who worked on the job. The exceptional difference came, though, with the owners themselves, says Horan.
“They have a strong design sense,” he says. “And with their involvement, our firm became a better firm. They helped us broaden our limits. At the end of the day, it was their intellect, ideas and stick-to-itiveness that brought it all together.”
Horan notes that the couple was involved in all phases of design and construction, from the concrete’s specific mix of lamp black powder to the placement of the garages, for which they ended up in a
The architect too, went above and beyond. “I was honored to be so personally involved and discover a level of service that creates great architecture,” says Horan, who chose much of the home’s finishes, from paint colors to cabinet hardware to countertops. “I’m very passionate, oftentimes intense, and the homeowner can be the same way.”
So how did equally zealous homeowner and architect avoid implosion? “You have to respect the passion and commitment of another,” says the homeowner. “When you disagree on something, you just have to work through it. It’s not about the individual; it’s about what you’re trying to do. In my mind, 100 years from now, someone will be enjoying this house. I was building it as much for them as I was for us.”