Architect: The Raleigh Architecture Co.
Project Location: Raleigh, NC
Project Completion Date: September, 2017
Short Description: On a heavily wooded site, down a gravel road in the heart of a suburban neighborhood, lies the Parks Residence. The house blends in to the surrounding forest through the use of subdued materials and reflection, hiding away light filled volumes inside. Beginning with a simple box, the outer form was manipulated to orient views towards the trees to the east and creek to the west. Envisioned as a Wunderkammer, or “cabinet of wonder”, the interior spaces strive to be a backdrop for the numerous weird and wonderful objects collected by the client over several decades.
Architect’s Statement:
Type of Construction: The Parks residence is located on a steeply sloping site, so a cast in place concrete foundation serves both as retaining wall and crawl space/storage below. Engineered wood floor and roof trusses are used to create the long spans required by the large open living areas and exterior overhangs, reinforced by steel beams. Locally sourced cypress siding used on the exterior creates a physical and visual connection to the forest surrounding the house and dark metal wall panels further make the house visually disappear. A sloping TPO roof is easily accessible for maintenance from the second floor balcony. The metal staircase leading to the library loft is tube steel with self-tapping connections used for the floating steel stair tread supports. A repurposed steel mesh welding curtain gets a new life as a privacy screen for the large bank of double paned windows at the front elevation.