ALL ARCHITECTURE FASHION GRAPHIC LITERATURE RESEARCH ABOUT

A HOUSE FOR A MAGNOLIA TREE

A home for an artist in the Catskills, NY

Status: In Progress
Client: Private
As you approach the entrace of the house, a magnolia tree appears to hover between earth and sky. Drawing nearer, you notice the ground rising gently around you, guiding you to an entrance beneath its canopy. Inside, a spiral ramp winds upward into the living space, offering a full view of the tree, just for a glimpse. As you enter the ground floor, the tree is revealed and obscured in turn by shifting layers of glass that guide you in a circle.

Inspired by the design logic of Hindu courtyard homes and temples, the house is oriented to the sun’s journey from dawn to dusk. Morning light eases into the bedroom for a gentle wake-up, then moves through the kitchen and finally settles into the workshop by evening.

When rain falls, the roof’s contours channel water into waterfalls that frame both the house and the tree. Eventually, led by the roof’s shape and the gentle slope of the ground, the water converges at the tree’s base, seeps deeper into the earth, and pools in a cistern below.

Plan of ground floor

SW to NE section

Structural analysis on shell roof form, where pattern of structural flow mimics Hindu mandala patterns

Research investigating the fluid dynamics of the shell roof

Structural force flow and topology drawing compared to Hindu Vastu Purusha

Drawing showing, in red, how the roof moves water. More saturated areas in red are where water collects the most.