Modern A-Frame Houses We Love
Popularized in 1950s to 70s, the humble A-frame carries a distinctively retro-modern aesthetic and bears load in a lightweight, cost-efficient manner.
A bright-yellow “R” sign, from a truck that used to deliver furniture from Jens Risom Design, sets off the southern facade. When Jens designed the house, he stipulated that he wanted cedar shingles, not the asphalt ones that came with the original design from the catalog.
On the north-facing facade, it’s easy to discern where the original glass doors used to open directly to the deck. In spring of 2012, Block Island contractor John Spier replaced the entire wall of glass panels.
Mid-century designer Jens Risom's A-framed prefab family retreat, located on the northern portion of Block island, is bordered by a low stone wall, an aesthetic element that appears throughout the land.
The facade consists of exposed concrete, Galvalume roofing, and cedar or torrefied wood coating. The homes are carefully positioned to keep other structures out of sight.
Architect Indra Janda hand-cut sheets of polycarbonate into 15¾-inch square shingles and clad the entire timber structure—a gabled roof and walls—with them.
The house's triangular shape effectively blocks sight of a large wall that stands nearby. "The form of the plan really follows out of making the best for the garden and the views," Koolhaas says.
The house has four varieties of wood that relate to one another with a similar material vocabulary. “It is all about finding ways to assemble pieces of the same nature,” says Lamine.
A-frame cabin in Whistler, Vancouver; Architects: Scott and Scott
The Browns at their Whistler A-frame