House appears to grow out of a rocky ridge in the hills near Boise, Idaho. The basically circular structure of the house takes fullest advantage of sweeping views, and the deck off the dining room brings owners even closer to their view.
This hilltop house awakens a flood of exciting associations: The cave, the castle in the crags, the lookout tower. It soars above an immense view, but it has a certain feeling of intimacy and solidity that ties it securely to earth.
The owner-designer purposely chose the spectacular but difficult site. His solution to the problem of perching a house on this ridge determined the form of the house: It is a 16-sided polygon with floors cantilevered from a central steel support. A great wall built of weathered, lichen-encrusted rock gathered from the site helps stabilize the structure and also pleases the eye.
Despite the steep slope, the house has generous usable outdoor areas. They float as cantilevered decks, or nestle as stone-paved terraces.
The circular form offers economy of circulation space, concentrated in the center, and off which rooms open in wedge shapes. This economy is offset, however, by the need for special carpentry work to fit the sloping, tapering framing of the house.
The site's final dividend is natural air-conditioning by up and down-valley breezes, channeled through the windows.
Floor of dining area is paved with local stone, a more finely quarried selection of the same type used in the wall.
Kitchen windows have full view, made opener by locations of pass-throughs and open storage cabinets.
Living room. Massive rock wall's solidity balances openness of house. The radial beams of the 16-sided house are 2 by 14's.
Lighter members repeat wedge-shaped design factor in rooms on lower level, reached by stair at near end of stone wall.
.jpg)
