Mar House

​

private, residential

2022_ongoing

​

The Mar house presents a unique challenge: maximize the floor area for a growing family of 6 and provide each child with their own bedroom, while simultaneously providing maximum outdoor space for the family to enjoy year round.

​

Drawing inspiration from old world country barns and stones walls, the Mar house begins with a simple but distinctive gable end geometry. The simple geometry is perched upon a concrete block base that embeds itself into the sloped site, lifts the primary living area up one storey, and sends a wall across the front of the property like an old stone wall. Partially embedding the garage adds much needed square footage to the site through the utilization of its roof area and as patio on which main living area can spill out onto.

 

The street side of the gable end structure cantilevers out over concrete base, creating a covered entry below while hosting children’s bedrooms and a generous loft space above.

​

The loft overlooks the kitchen, dining  and living room area which completely opens up to the southeast facing patio. This central area is buffered from the children’s bedroom area by a linear stair case and matching vertical fenestration that provides a clear visual and acoustic separation between the zones. The rear of the house is dedicated to a large private master retreat. The lower floor provides the primary entrance area, a guest bed and bath, a large rec room, a multitude of storage and an oversized garage.

​

Through simple but strategic massing and planning moves, the Mar house is able to meet the client’s present needs while allowing future growth in a sophisticated manner that stands unique among a sea of like houses.