Strickland-Ferris Residence

STRICKLAND - FERRIS RESIDENCE Raleigh, North Carolina 2005 Frank Harmon, Sarah Queen The house was designed primarily for one person who had three specific requirements: (1) she wanted “something dramatic;” (2) She wanted to feel “as if I’m living in the trees;” and (3) she wanted the house to be utterly devoid of unnecessary ornamentation to the point that she could see the marks of construction, from exposed bolts to the “unfinished” ceiling structure. The site is a steep, north-facing escarpment 80 feet above Crabtree Creek, shaded by a then-150-year-old beech and oak forest. The creek has carved this escarpment for millions of years, which immediately suggested a site of great ecological sensitivity. We knew we had to build upon it carefully. To give the owner a shelter that treads lightly on the sensitive site, we perched the house on nine, broad-shouldered wood trusses without cutting a single major tree. The trusses permit air and water to flow under the house, preserving the hydrology of the escarpment. We created a very large, butterfly-shaped roof to open views northwards to the creek and to funnel rainwater into a collection system on the south side. The entrance to the house is a progression from the top of the hill, across a bridge, and into a balcony foyer, at which point the drama of the scenery outside fills the interior through two-story, floor-to-ceiling, north-facing glass walls. From the balcony, a graceful steel staircase with wooden treads descends past the glass (in essence, through the trees) to the dramatic, two-story-clear main living floor, which, in turn, opens onto a sunny and partially secluded south-facing terrace below the bridge.