travis price architects incorporates nature into the hayes residence

travis price architects incorporates nature into the hayes residence
image © ken wyner
all images courtesy of travis price architects

‘two rivers at the white birch
growing in the grove
waters shed trees of light in shades of green’

washington dc-based studio travis price architects have completed the hayes residence nestled amongst the trees in berkeley springs, west virginia. with a dense green surrounding, the home engages the landscape with a careful combination of opaque and transparent vertical planes supporting two parallel planes forming the floor and roof. the bedrooms are situated within the the footprint of the structure forming a continuous walkway around the entire floor plan.

image © ken wyner

at the center, an existing tree is allowed to penetrate through the canopy in an open courtyard- the center point from which two sweeping roofs clad in rustic patinated copper extend in opposite directions hovering over the private bedrooms. throughout the interior a similar condition exists as native trees find themselves encased in glass boxes, allowed to grow out their remaining lives while now forming part of the interior design. timber plank ceilings and exposed PSL beams allude to the wooded landscape, contrasting the floor rendered in square stone tiles- a material palette appropriately belonging to the site manifested in entirely new ways from those that exist naturally around them. the program defines the external facade, conditional upon the activation of each space. bathrooms are conceived of as cubes containing vibrant red or blue tiles that add dramatic color to the green and brown hues.