TAI-JI SITE

This property is on the East Fork of the Bigwood River at the base of the Pioneer Mountains in Central Idaho. The existing house was completely renovated by McMillen Pynn Architects. Originally containing very dark rooms and low ceilings, the house had little relationship to the outdoors, the river or the mountain views.

Working closely together architect Mark Pynn and landscape architect Bruce Hinckley opened up the house by the addition of large glass panels and sliding doors. The distinctive footprint of the existing house was then used to create outdoor rooms adjacent to each guest bedroom, the master suite, the great room, and the kitchen. Each of these outdoor terraces is scaled to its purpose, has a different orientation and micro-climate and is separated from adjacent outdoor rooms. Exposed aggregate concrete was used to create these terrace plinths, and to fortify the base of the building that is adjacent to a flood plain.

The acute angles created by the wings of the building, in combination with the eves, concentrated snow slides in these locations and produced dark corners inhospitable to plant materials. This challenge was resolved with the introduction of large native boulder fields and stone mulches that relate to the talus fields of the surrounding mountains.

Views to adjacent houses, roads, and fences were eliminated by the expansion of native willow thickets. A majority of the site was preserved or restored to native grassland or riparian forest. Architectonic planting beds reinforce the architecture, delineate the outdoor rooms, and provide additional privacy where required.