residential
matthew p greer at anderson architects
st. helena, ca
We were asked to create a multi-use guest pavilion on a relatively small Northern California vineyard lot that could also host sit-down dinners for up to 60 people. We always tell ourselves to “look at the landscape first, let it dominate and lead it through.”
napa barn
napa barn
The client needed a guest house that would allow flexibility of use and function. As initial design discussions progressed, we agreed that the house should respond to the local agricultural architecture and be rooted in the landscape. We decided to design a building that would be flexible in function but anchored in its site and place. The building took the form of a large Napa Valley barn.
Materials were picked for this hardworking structure that are all low maintenance and will age well within this landscape. Cedar cladding and standing-seam Terne coated steel dominate with red painted doors that echo the agrarian buildings of the Valley. The interior materials are naturally patterned surfaces: whitewashed plywood, local native stone fireplace, heated concrete floors, and site-made Douglas Fir roof trusses.
The Napa Barn vernacular was the appropriate response to the history of this agricultural community. We think about architecture with a small ‘a’. So the project is designed to work with the existing community and have very little “affect.” Likewise, materials were selected and details designed that were responses to the local: Cedar slats that allow air to flow through the garage; large water tanks for irrigation and fire protection, and a primary landscape. Siting of the house allowed the vineyard operations to continue up to the edge of the building mingling with a native California meadow instead of a lawn. Just like a Swiss Army Knife, it is a closed shape that opens up when you really need to use it.