Shipwreck House

As is often the case with unusual architecture, the strangeness is typically more the result of a strange problem than an architect's strange ego. Much of the conceptual effort for this project came from rather severe site limitations. Additionally there were many specific and unconventional functional requirements that contributed to the overall concept.
This project is on the take line of Folsom Lake in an area known as Rattlesnake Bar, in the town of Newcastle near Sacramento, CA.
It was determined early on, due to septic requirements, that the structure must be elevated. This property had been for sale since 1986 and had been deemed un-buildable due to lack of adequate soil for septic percolation. The solution necessitated an unconventional approach: elevating and cantilevering the structure over what little good soil was available to use for leach lines.
We did not feel there was much in the way of a built environment from which to draw for conceptual inspiration. What we did find relevant was a considerable variety of serpentine imagery: the flow of the American River as it feeds into Folsom Lake, the serpentine profile of the nearby foothills, and of course the rattlesnake which thrives in this area known as Rattlesnake Bar.
This natural imagery, together with the proximity to waterfront of Folsom Lake and very rugged terrain including numerous granite outcroppings at the site, drove the project conceptually from the very beginning; nautical imagery, images of a vessel racked against the outcrops was envisioned.
The nautical imagery would serve to assimilate the serpentine imagery. Additionally the nautical imagery functions as a nexus between the architecture, structure and integrated solar technologies: In this way the water-collecting warped butterfly profile for the main level roof geometry was conceived, along with its serpentine valley beam, which, when viewed from the interior, become evocative of the warped underside of a ship’s hull, or the skeletal remains of a rattlesnake.
The ‘masting’ for solar arrays and the staid cable suspension of the valley beam contribute to this nautical imagery and provide for a continuous unobstructed view of the entire lower ceiling: the lower level plan, which houses the public functions of the house as well as the Master bedroom, is as open as possible.
The few partitions that exist are held to the North side and are at seven feet maximum height, allowing the compound curving, twisting roof structure to be a very dynamic and fluid feature, viewable without significant obstruction from anywhere inside the house at that level. Privacy for the Master suite is achieved with a free standing accordion partition which can be tucked away at the wall or pulled out to any shape curved or straight.

The general lighting for the lower level works in concert with the serpentine twisting roof and gracefully intensifies as the serpentine moves South and dissipates as it moves back to the North.
The Upper level of the main residence is supported by the ‘masting’ (the three iron towers) which creates a moment frame for the lower structure as well as structural support of the upper ‘tree house’ level, enabling it to be completely separated from the lower level. In this way, the warped roof of the lower level is allowed to pass unobstructed underneath the upper level, which, although quarter-round in plan, evokes the warped nature of a full sail due to its concave and sloping roof geometry together with its roof-suspended stairwell.
The serpentine profile of the main roof overhang at the North (front) elevation recalls the profile of the Sierra foothills across the lake. The skeletal appearance of the main level South (rear) elevation (glazing between aluminum clad posts) is intended to evoke a more weather-beaten side of the vessel.
Due to the slope variation in the roof structure, the South overhang needs to increase in length as the rafter slope increases, to allow for adequate shading. Because of the necessity to dimension this overhang for construction purposes a system of measuring needed to be created which would accurately locate the warping and twisting nature of this roof overhang at each rafter tail. The solution was to use the sun angle on an average day at solar noon between the winter and summer solstices and create an imaginary plane at that particular angle. Then every rafter regardless of its slope would extend until it touched that imaginary plane in space.
As a consequence of this effort, on those two average days at high noon the shadow outline created by the overhang, which is typically a variable serpentine throughout the year, becomes a perfectly straight line east to west for a moment in time and then proceeds to warp back to a variable serpentine for six months until the next event.
This effect and the approach that led to it are unprecedented features. They are the reason this house was built. This shade line effect is manifested in the outline of the South roof overhang which although warped and twisting in three dimensions, when viewed at a particular angle becomes a perfectly straight line like the shadow it casts.
This is a house of contrasts, of "old" (the untreated iron work) and new (the stainless and aluminum finishes) of shiny and rusty, of inside and out. There is a distinct effort to emphasize the isolated "floating" nature of the house: it is not a house that blends inside with outside, rather there is a very distinct contrast between the rugged exterior and the slickness of the interior. Landscaping is limited to reseeding disturbed areas with local grasses. Local redwood decking is left untreated to weather and blend with the landscape. The exterior diamond plate steel walkways and platforms are allowed to rust and blend with the natural rusty granite surroundings.
This house is like no other on the planet with 24 volt DC lighting, space cooling, water pumping and refrigeration allowing for a 30% increase in the efficiency of the photovoltaic system as compared to using inverted power for these applications. The water collecting roof is plumbed to accept water storage bladder tanks that can be located under the main house. The runoff from the main roof is approximately 50,000 gallons/year. There is a grass driveway installed in a honeycomb retention grid which stabilizes the soil preventing driveway "creep". This driveway cools the microenvironment as opposed to the heat source that is a paved driveway.
There are custom aluminum/stainless showers, a commercial style crescent-shaped stainless steel kitchen which has an integrated custom crescent-shaped 5 burner range unique in all the world and an integrated crescent-shaped sink for a completely seamless appearance.
There are transparent interior roof drains for viewing and listening to the rainfall.
There is a cable suspended vanishing edge pool and spa integrated into a large cable suspended deck with spectacular views of Folsom Lake. The guesthouse can be a caretaker's house for a corporate retreat. I am currently occupying the guesthouse. The main house has never been occupied or used in any way. This house is for sale for 2.85 million, currently not listed.
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