House on Lake Tahoe

The owners of this property along the North shore of Lake Tahoe wanted a vacation home for their family of five that encouraged a connection to the lake and each other. The home’s design advance s a different approach to Tahoe-area residences, which typically emphasize a sheltering environment where wood and stone predominate, and views are selectively framed. This house contrasts the warm materiality of its exposed wood structure with expansive visual connections to the outdoors through glass walls, doors and windows.

The new home has two levels, an upper entry level with more social functions (kitchen, dining, library and sitting spaces, as well as a guest bedroom suite) and a private lower level which contains bedrooms, an exercise room and a media room. The upper level spaces are gathered under a vaulted exposed timber roof (structured by a series of custom steel trusses and Douglas-fir glu-laminated rafters), and anchored by a pair of massive stone fireplaces that connect the house to the land. Four large mahogany and glass sliding doors open the living space onto a covered Ipe´-wood deck that overlooks an expansive view of Lake Tahoe.

Facing the street, the entry façade is composed of a carefully detailed, slatted western red cedar rainscreen wall, which appears to pull apart to reveal the main entry to the building, and a carefully framed view to the lake beyond. The entry hall includes a custom steel and stone stair that leads to the ground floor bedrooms and media room, and slips between two massive blue-gray cut basalt stone fireplaces. Emanating from a skylight at the ridge, a wash of natural light marks this entry volume and highlights the fireplaces.

Through proportion and massing, this house offers a modern interpretation of the “Tahoe -style” while maintaining a warmth and richness using natural materials that connect the house to its surroundings. It is a thoroughly modern house that is at ease with its context, and fits seamlessly into the landscape. With a clearly organized plan and section, carefully tuned proportions, and custom architectural details incorporated throughout, this house is unique and befits its spectacular setting.

Team

Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, Umerani Associates, Corda Construction