Mutton Hill House

Features

• On-site material sourcing
  
• Energy-efficient envelope
  
• Community build

A community design-build approach was utilized during all phases of this project, beginning with communal design charrettes and continuing into construction. Some friends and family members brought invaluable skills as carpenters, masons, and roofers to our process. Others brought an unskilled but helping hand, an interest in learning, or their children, providing a healthy distraction from the work. We designed the house to fit into the vernacular of its rural landscape but the interior layout has a contemporary, open plan.

The house is oriented to provide both a view of the pond on the property and to maximize access to daylight and solar warmth to the south. Secondary functions (mudroom, bath, stairs, and closets) are located to the north and west,  providing a buffer from cold winter winds. Tamarack and maple trees were harvested from the property’s forest for the framing, siding and flooring, and the slip-form masonry exterior is fieldstone, gathered from ruined stone walls on location. The exterior shell is an assembly of insulated concrete formwork, structurally insulated panels, and 2x6 framing with bio-based spray-foam, creating a warm winter jacket for the house.