Comolli-Leclair House

1994 Charlotte, VT
2,200 SF Single family home in co-housing community.  $175K
Principal: Michael Wisniewski

Beth wanted a cathedral reaching to the heavens and Ed wanted a druid cave sunk into the earth— a tantilizing design challenge! Functionally, a three bedroom house plus home offices for each of them was desired with open and flowing living spaces that still had a sense of individual definition. The offices should be accessible without going through the living space.

We decided to combine the cathedral and druid cave into a single integrated form rather than expressing them individually. The structure starts out low at the entry and rises up to form two towers. The composition appears hewn out of irregular rock and yet symetrically reaching for the heavens. The fire tower is for the hearth and thus grounded, the light tower in the master bedroom opens up to the sky. On the interior a jagged light shelf defines social areas and continues the theme of rock carving while proportions in other elements emphasize verticality.