Captivating Contrast – Creek House by Faulkner Architects

Nestled in a pine and fir forest, Creek House is a captivating family retreat perched within a volcanic boulder field and overlooking the nearby Martis Creek. Faulkner Architects ensures the introduced form seamlessly fits alongside the existing mountainous terrain as a welcome contrast to the raw nature of the surrounds.

Marked by a series of outdoor garden spaces that add a sense of serenity to the more contained interior and encasing architectural form, Creek House is imagined as an open embrace of place. Harmoniously blending the built and natural elements, the deliberate response integrates the surrounding landscape, carving its own sanctuary for the owners. Whilst the rhythmic ebb and flow of the changing seasons determines the mood from within, the more solid and transparent architectural gestures create balance. Faulkner Architects adopts a contrasting approach to the architecture, mirroring the integration of the built form with the natural surrounds.

Throughout the home, texture plays a vital role in animating surfaces and continuing the story of the location through the architecture.

A long, insulated concrete wall runs the length of the residence toward the south and delineates the living spaces in the process. As an extension of the rugged mountain topography, the masonry features are of a similar heft whilst also helping to define the internal planning. Throughout the home, texture plays a vital role in animating surfaces and continuing the story of the location. To the east, an open garden space aligns within a void framed by concrete walls, creating an ideal place of seclusion and intimacy off the main bedroom.

Filled with native basalt stones, a bespoke water feature accentuates a low-lying, three-dimensional glass box where the landscape weaves itself in. A similar shaped rectangular form also captures snowmelt in winter. Working with the orientation, a cantilevered level protects a western-facing façade below, which abates any unwanted sun exposure. Due to its positioning on a sloping site, the weight of the materiality and its composition amid the surrounds, the home feels unshakable and grounded with a sense of purpose. The increased thermal mass afforded to the dwelling, as a result of the thick walls, ensures it is warmed or cooled throughout the seasons as needed, with other systems integrated to store and slowly release energy.

Although positioned on a sloping site, the weight of the materiality and its composition amid the surrounds, the home feels unshakable and grounded with a sense of purpose.

Through a conscious appreciation of the site, Creek House sits both sensitively and reclusively amid the landscape. Respecting the nearby forest, Faulkner Architects also optimises outward connections to distant views, sheltering but also creating an ideal watching station from afar.