The Ledge House

Location

Catoctin Mountains, lvlaryland, USA

House area

4,252 square feet/395 square metres

Site area

198 acres/80 hectares

Description

Placed at the edge of a small plateau on a forested mountainside, the house overlooks a stream valley to the south. By employing the logs, heavy timbers and stonework found in rustic buildings of the early 1900s and arranging the new structure along the south rim of the cut, a remarkably evocative forespace is created.

The natural look of the log timber construction on the exterior of the house gives the illusion of the structure growing out from the forest. Hand-peeled, scribed-in-place, white cedar logs were chosen for their naturally rot and insect-resistant characteristics. In contrast, the interior of the structure employs select, structural grade, Douglas fir dimensional timbers, rafters, columns and beams selected for visual and structural qualities.

Using heavy timber post and beam construction enables the exterior walls to be free of load bearing and therefore very flexible in design. Large glazed mahogany-framed window walls along with western red cedar siding add to the visual richness of the exterior.