Set within an exclusive housing community along a wooded ravine and the edge of a golf course, this home for a family of four was designed to provide privacy from the street while embracing the natural landscape beyond. Three modernist brick volumes define the form of the house and are carefully positioned across the sloping site to create a series of interlinked, outdoor courtyards. Taken together, these terraced courtyards establish a dramatic procession from the street to the swimming pool terrace along the edge of the ravine.

The largest of the brick volumes contains the main living spaces, children's bedrooms, guest quarters, and garage. The two smaller structures flank the swimming pool and consist of the primary bedroom suite and pool house. One of the client's directives was to provide a home they could remain in through retirement, and, to accommodate the concept of “aging in place,” the main living space, primary bedroom suite, garage, and pool terrace were strategically organized along the site's topography to provide barrier-free access from the car to the sleeping quarters.

Brick is used extensively throughout the project, both inside and outside, to provide a human-scaled texture to the expanse of architectural surfaces. Together, brick walls and floors provide a continuity of materiality and emphasize the blurring of interior and exterior space. A timeless and enduring quality is inherent in the masonry construction and provides a powerful aura of repose within the home's interior and a sense of shelter from the elements. The soft grey color of this material was chosen to reflect the bark of the trees in the surrounding landscape and provides a warm, enveloping calmness within the abstract shapes of the architecture.