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ArchDC Summer 2017.qxp_Summer 2017 5/24/17 10:47 AM Page 22

View from the kitchen toward the main living area. The house contains no fixed furniture.
steeply pitched roof plunging into broad eves, making spiral staircase is lit in the daytime by a skylight above.
the structure look top-heavy. The main entrance was On the second level, the glass connector extends to the
located symmetrically under one end of the gable, and centerline of the tower, so that from either side it appears
opened abruptly into the living/dining room. The first as though a “bite” has been taken out of the cylinder.
floor included an enclosed kitchen and one bedroom, This one simple design gesture adds significant interest
with a steep ladder leading to a small loft space above. to the architectural composition, while allowing even
A full-width deck projected from the rear of the house. more daylight to reach the staircase and adjacent
There was no fixed furniture—the couple and their circulation spaces.
child rolled up their beds each morning and stashed Changes to the interior of the house included the
them away. insertion of a modern, but still modest, kitchen—the
The starting point for McInturff’s modernization of refrigerator, for instance, is a small under-counter model—
the exterior was the elimination of the ungainly roof and the conversion of the former kitchen into a second
overhangs, yielding a tauter, more purely geometrical distinct bedroom. The term “distinct” is somewhat
form. A continuous “cloak” of black asphalt shingles now misleading, however, since one of the hallmarks of the
covers both the roof and the longitudinal façades, further project is a deliberate indeterminateness in the disposition
enhancing the sense of sleekness. Contrasting with the of interior spaces. In the absence of fixed furniture that
cloak of black shingles are white stucco elements that would serve to define the functions of specific rooms, the
poke out from the ends of the gabled structure. A bay occupants use the various spaces flexibly. In that spirit,
window, also framed in white, now projects from the McInturff conceived the interior as a network of over-
southeast façade, bringing much-needed light to the lapping volumes. At night, pocket doors can close off the
living space within. sleeping areas for privacy, but by day these doors slide
The most prominent new element is a cylindrical out of the way, blurring the boundaries between spaces.
stair tower, reminiscent of a silo, which is offset from Details and workmanship obviously assume even
the main body of the house by a glassy “hyphen.” This greater importance in minimalist projects. As one would
represents the only substantial addition to the house— expect, the clients wanted to keep things simple, and
both the architect and clients concluded it was justified McInturff obliged. “The house is fairly free of tech-y
by the need to replace the steep ladder to the loft. The details,” he noted. “Even the spiral stair is more or less

22 LESS IS MORE REWARDING