Northwest Arkansas, 2005

The challenge for the Arkansas House was to reassemble a fire-damaged home and introduce possibilities for re-thinking the house's spatial character by adding new elements. The low-slung existing tartan grid structure was instilled with a new sense of hierarchy through the addition of light monitors and suspended lofts to the children's spaces, a new kitchen, and a great room with a saddle-back roof for living, entertaining, and the display of fine art. Comfortably astride the old house, the angled shell forms exude empathy with a rusted barn nearby; the effects of weather and dripping tree sap provide their rusted surfaces with character - raw and visceral - a foil to the painted shades of beige on the walls below.