A new house, guesthouse, and garage form a community of buildings on a rural hilltop site, evoking a rural homestead. The buildings define a formal courtyard that opens to specific views of the Berkshire and Catskill Mountains. Copper, wood, and bluestone are the primary materials, deployed to affect a minimal and sculptural vocabulary. The buildings are embedded to varying degree within the rocky topography, and bluestone walls weave between architecture and landscape to reinforce their integration.

The project is guided by sustainable design goals to conserve energy and water, to restore the site to its natural state, and to integrate mechanical systems that take best advantage of the project locale. Wind turbines will produce enough electricity for daily operation of the house, and a geothermal well will greatly reduce reliance on fossil fuels, including those which would normally be used to heat the pool and spa. The buildings are insulated with high performance, bio-based foam insulation, and finish material selection is guided by analysis of location, embodied energy cost, and life/recycling considerations.