There is a common idea that a building in the landscape should disappear — that it should be buried, camouflaged or clad in mirrors. We think the opposite is usually true. The best buildings in a landscape make the landscape more visible, by framing it, measuring it, or standing against it.

A horizontal roof against a mountain makes the mountain look taller. A single window in a long wall makes the view through it precious. A path that bends around a tree tells you the tree was there first.

Measuring the ground

When we begin a project in the landscape, we spend more time on the topographic survey than on any other drawing. We walk the site at different hours and seasons. We note where water collects, where the wind drops, where the ground is warm in winter. The building is then placed — rather than designed — in response.

At House in the Grove, this process took three weeks and resulted in a plan that bends four times. No tree was removed. The bends are not formal gestures; they are a record of where the trees stand.

Landscape also sets the limits of material. The building should, where possible, be made of what is around it — or at least of what will weather in the same way. A stone house in a stone landscape will look right in fifty years; a painted one will need painting.