‘I wanted this house to be rooted in the
ground and to grow vertically like a tree’
LEFT, THE ENTRANCE, WITH
ITS FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT-
AND JAPANESE-INSPIRED
ELEMENTS, OFFERS BOTH
A SENSE OF AUSPICIOUS
ARRIVAL AND A FRIENDLY
WELCOME HOME
BELOW, BUILT-IN
SHELVING STREAMLINES
THE PASSAGEWAY TO TWO
ADJACENT BEDROOMS
WITH VIEWS OF THE BAYcrevices of the rocks and the spirit of the trees.’
Rather than blasting the bedrock, Mudry designed
a meandering entranceway via a winding staircase
that respects the contours of the site. ‘There should
be joy in how you walk to the entrance – but also
awareness of the environment. It’s not that easy,’
he laughs, ‘to get to the front door.’
Inspired by the surrounding trees, Mudry conceived
the form of the house as one supported by a series of
hyperbolic paraboloid posts that open up like parasols,
creating a sense of interior forest canopy. ‘I wanted this
house to be rooted into the ground,’ Mudry explains,
‘and then to grow vertically like a tree that opens
up, creating the ceiling.’ It’s a design that ultimately
enhances rather than detracts from the environment.
‘One of the sins of our time,’ rails the architect, ‘is
that when we find beauty in nature, we never know
how to live with it in the right relationship.’
‘But this house,’ he continues, ‘adopted the people
that inhabited it, giving them shelter and protection.’
As one enters the house, he says, ‘it’s like stepping
into nature’. And indeed, once past the heavy timber
Japanese-style door and welcoming lanterns, the
westward view of ocean provides an instant embrace.
Arriving upstairs in the master bedroom, sheltered
to the east by a Japanese-style lattice and etched-glass
window that create a double screening effect, the whole
bay seems to envelope the space. Standing at the main
entrance downstairs, the tip of the ceiling is visible
through the south-facing glazing. The eye follows its
line to reveal a cedar post supporting the umbrella-like
vaulted ceiling, with no cross beams to distract from
the arc of the protective forest-like canopy. From
the great hall-like living space – a mini-cathedral in
the woods – ocean, islands and mountains sing their
hymns. The master bedroom upstairs observes it all
as if from a choir loft.
The house is a canvas for the elements; a tabula
rasa reinvented every day by shifting light and tides.
At night, its western façade becomes a jewel-like
Japanese lantern. But it’s the sunset that makes
Mudry – who is clearly concerned about the fate of
the building – most emotional. ‘You should see it!’
he enthuses, his eyes alive with memories. ‘When
the sun reaches the horizon and hits the interior,
suddenly everything’s on fire!’ ∂198 ∑
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