Analog

Lake Tahoe, California

Adjacent to US Forest Service land, this 2 1/2-acre parcel of land slopes gently to the south and is dotted by 100-foot-tall pine and fir trees. The understory consists of basalt boulders, manzanita, bitterbrush, and sage. Coyote, black bear, and bobcat visit the site frequently. The winter of 2022-23 set a record with over 700 inches of snow. Fire resistance and durable low-maintenance materials were a requirement. This was to be an architect’s house, designed in collaboration with Tom Kundig, for Greg, his wife Lesa, and their large family.

From the first visit to the site it was agreed that protection of this existing landscape would form the conceptual mission. This protection evolved to determine the house’s form, capturing spatial movement through the site (aka “skiing the trees” as Tom calls it), which inscribed the site with the future built territories.

Built with an assembler’s attitude toward material and form, the architecture inhabits a ground form of insulated concrete walls. The plan is located within the existing clearings between the more than 100 trees. The effect is that the house feels as though the trees grew up around it, adding a component of time to the overall experience.

The process of collaboration with Tom and his office was as important as the finished product. Sharing the workload, the group became a team of friends who communicated almost by shorthand. Greg’s roles as client and architect merged as the project evolved. The overall presentation of the work identifies the methods, means of construction and use of the built form in a resolved and edited language. The appearance of the form was never discussed; rather, the experience of moving through it within this forest, shaped the conversations.