JOHN DWYER ARCHITECT


Role
Team
Location
Year  
Construction   
Photography

Principal, Lead Designer, Project Architect
Colin Oglesbay, Edward Eichten, Ashley Peterson
Saint Paul, Minnesota
2017 Completed
Brownsmith Restoration
Chad Holder Set in a climate which varies annually from arctic to tropical, a scarcity of light in winter contrasts with its abundance in summer. Its distinct nature was articulated in the Norse languages with as many variations as words for snow. Ljos describes whiteness which becomes essential to our psychological survival as the world turns dark and blue. Yggdrasil is the oak, a world tree.  Following a hasty lot split, the site’s geometry and topography limited its buildability without destryoing a grove of mature white oaks.

A feasibility study, prior to clients purchasing the land, revealed the possibility of sinking the house to create a side drive and soften the building’s mass while protecting the root zones of the trees.  This was coupled with a wood and black material palette and an informal, rolling landscape.  Inside, light employs traditional Scandinavian nordic light strategies, bouncing off wood horizontals and between white verticals. 



Index

Next →