The Dangle-Byrd house was envisioned as a modern country retreat set on a wooded five-acre site in rural Pennsylvania. The house is anchored by a massive stone chimney hand set in the tradition of the best Pennsylvania farmhouses. This permanence is contrasted by the dramatic floating glass walls of the living room. Severe in form, the materiality of the house allows it to become part of the surrounding landscape.
The house consists of three interlocking volumes. While each volume is very simple in its form, the exchange between them allows for a wide variety of spatial experiences. The first impression one has is that the house is two “black-boxes” connected by a glass bridge. However, as you enter the house the perceptions change. From the interior, the bridge is no longer a figure, but rather a looking glass to the outside. The single storied master suite becomes an intimate walnut valise, retreating from the exposed glass room.The guest suite is reached by a dramatic stainless steel bridge passing through a two-storied screened porch. The northern end of the house has a private balcony looking down to the lap pool set into the woods.
The unusual structure of the house was inspired by the elegant engineering of farming equipment and local Pennsylvania trussed bridges. The resulting form is a steel “exo-skeleton” with a wood and glass box suspended within the steel frame.
