The main living area was allocated the prime viewing corner, with the master suite then placed at one end of the home and a guest wing at the other. It's this guest wing, clad in slowly weathering Corten steel, that greets visitors to the home, says associate principal David Pascu.
"The guest wing is raised off the ground, up to almost 2.5m. We could have had the walls continue down to grade, but we wanted to minimise the footprint on the land. We liked the idea of seeing underneath a portion of the house to glimpse the views when you arrive," says Pascu.
The Corten steel also meets the request for low maintenance materials, as do the zinc roof, the architectural concrete walls and the polished concrete slab that extends throughout the house.
Another restriction on the design stipulated a maximum ratio of 30% glazing for the house, though that could be exceeded if measures were taken to ensure the house performed well thermally.
By having the arrival facade primarily presenting a blank face, the view side of the house could be almost fully glazed.
"But we did go over the 30% fenestration because there was such value in having as much glass as possible. In turn, we used triple-paned glazing with two layers of argon gas between, which has a higher insulation value than is typical."
Other environmental and sustainability elements in the design include hydronic in-floor radiant heating as well as installation of a geothermal system which makes use of the natural temperature difference in the earth to heat and cool the home.