The Creek House by Arthur Dyson

The building program indicated by the clients was both extensive and specific. Their requirements could be summarized by a compact dwelling that would provide for informal daily living, offer an intimate atmosphere for small evening gatherings, and serve as a focus for larger outdoor entertainments. Their specific requests included a workshop area, and a kitchen that would be able to look north to the front entry, south to the outdoor living areas, and be surrounded by a breakfast bar for casual family and social dining. The clients also expressed an affinity for curves and arches without a Spanish motif, a fondness for shingled exteriors, and a preference for high ceilings.

Several hundred yards from the nearest neighbors and screened from public view, the secluded and wooded site, afforded the opportunity to explore the desire for a more expressive design than an urban lot with closely adjoining buildings would allow. Being in a one hundred year flood plain mandated a finish floor three feet above grade, which presented difficulties in balancing the desired interior height with the flat, open glade in which the house was centered. The resolution occurs through the integration of two structural curves. The upper curve encloses the maximum amount of space with the minimum of materials, while the inverted lower curve provides a visual counterpoint to the arching roof by swinging down to the foundation. A berm raised into the foundation anchors the house in a grassy carpet, setting the whole composition comfortably on the ground. The flowing shape of these dominant curves establishes the sinuous form of the exterior surface finished in red shingles.

The first floor contains living, dining, and kitchen areas as well as a workshop and garage. The second floor area is visually connected to the first floor through opened interior walls where possible, enclosing the bedroom, bath, and study loft where privacy is required.

Interior metal work executed by the client includes ornamental stair balusters, chimney caps, and shop window frame. Each facet of the design attend some specific desire by the client for a unique and personal expression in architecture, and the residence continues to develop as an articulation of their character.