US studio Waechter Architecture has completed a courtyard-style home in Oregon that consists of steel-clad pavilions set around a rainwater-fed garden of native plants.
Meadow House is located in the city of Eugene, a few miles southwest of the University of Oregon.
The residence is named after an adjacent park and landscape preserve, Madison Meadow, which lies at the heart of a neighbourhood with single-family homes.
The project was designed for the stepmother of Ben Waechter, founder of Portland, Oregon-based Waechter Architecture.
The main goal was to create a durable and economical home that embraces the historic park, which features native grasses and a diverse mix of trees and shrubs.
“The family sought to create a residence adjacent to the meadow while honouring its character and greater value as a resource for the entire community,” the team said.
“At the same time, they sought to bring their ways of living into closer dialogue with the surrounding neighborhood and the simple beauty of its signature landscape.”
Inspired by the concept of a “meadow within a meadow”, the architects conceived a rectangular, 2,000-square-foot (186-square-metre) building with a garden courtyard at its centre. From above, the house can be read as a series of frames.
Planted with native grasses, the rain-fed garden has a natural character that takes cues from Madison Meadow. Arranged around this open space are single-storey volumes faced with metal and glass.
One volume holds the kitchen and an adjoining dining area and living room. Two contain sleeping areas, including the primary bedroom suite. Another encompasses a garage and workshop.
In certain areas, glazed walls blur the boundary between inside and out and immerse occupants in the landscape in all seasons. Two sheltered patios further strengthen the home’s connection to its setting.
For the building’s cladding, the team chose bonderized steel, which was used for walls, soffits and roofs. The continuous wrapper lends to the home being read as a “single mass that has been carved and sculpted”, the architects said.
The low-maintenance cladding is intended to age naturally over time. It also can withstand water.
“Its strong resistance to corrosion and water damage also allows the inward sloping roofs to collect rainwater directly into the central garden,” the team said, noting that the house has no gutters.
Overall, the home is meant to serve as a backdrop to the landscape.
“The simple forms and palette of the house allow the wild vitality of the meadow and the change of seasons to define the primary experience of place,” the team said.
Waechter Architecture has completed a number of projects in America’s Pacific Northwest, including a Portland commercial building made of mass timber and a glazed tasting room overlooking a vineyard in rural Oregon.
The photography is by Lara Swimmer.
Project credits:
Architecture and interiors: Waechter Architecture
Design team: Ben Waechter (principal architect), Lisa Kuhnhausen (project architect)
Contractor: Chalus Construction Co
Structural engineer: Grummel Engineering
Doors and windows: Sierra Pacific
