Wallen Road snakes out of Moscow, Idaho, climbing approximately 500 ft. before straddling a ridge offering panoramic views of the Palouse Range, the region’s primary land feature. Located on 25 acres, the site is forested below and opens to an elevated knoll at the south end of the property, affording stunning views, good southern exposure and ease of access in winter months. An old, gnarly existing orchard provides a natural privacy screen from the county road for the dwelling. Design objectives were to create a vernacular building that appears as old relative to the land and orchard, to preserve the native grasses, to incorporate sustainable aspects (solar gain, reclaimed wood, construction-waste reduction and a green roof) and to satisfy the robust programmatic requirements of the adults and children living there.

The house, with its gabled form and saddlebag sheds anchoring the ends, is laid out on a 4’-0” grid in both directions. The narrow side of the house measures 24’-0” wide, allowing south light in winter months to penetrate deep into the primary spaces on the main level through oversized apertures. To accomplish this, the house stretches out along the east/west axis, enabling each main area its own solar gain. In the central part of the house, the living room with Rumford fireplace holds the largest portions of glazing with adjacent exterior decks. This space opens up vertically to bedroom and loft areas above, creating a spacious yet warm and comforting feel for its inhabitants.

To obtain simple expression and simplicity of building, the form is of 8:12 gable, 1.5 stories, laid out on a 4’-0” grid in both directions. This served for ease of use and minimal waste of standardized construction materials. The wood-framed structure has 6” exterior walls with closed-cell blown-in foam insulation at all walls and roof cavities. All framing materials were garnered from sustainable forests.

The house is clad in salvaged barn siding and laid over 1” horizontal furring for a natural air gap. Windows are aluminum-clad VGDF (vertical grain Douglas Fir) wood. The exterior incorporates 1/8” bare steel at the entry and rear porch as accents. Bare steel portions are protected, left untreated for natural patina aesthetic. A green roof over the garage houses native species in 12” composite soil over filter-fabric/waterproof membranes, atop primed marine-grade plywood.

The interior of the house incorporates VGDF throughout. Reclaimed VGDF boards are used for flooring and wall paneling in the living area. Capable of burning 48” logs over its solid basalt hearth and clad in Montana quarry stone, the Rumford fireplace is the central focal point of the living room. An open ceiling in the living area allows radiant and convection heat to move up to the sleeping and loft areas above. Kitchen cabinets and millwork are composed of stained white oak and teak. The kitchen and bath tiled areas incorporate radiant subfloors. A high-efficiency heat pump/forced air system warms the house with a wood stove in the basement used for supplemental heating.

Situated on a picturesque ridge offering a panoramic view of the Palouse Range, the Wallen Road residence was designed to directly reflect its region’s character and materials. The home itself was oriented to afford stunning views and southern exposure to the hills and forest below. While also designed in a 4′-0” grid to minimize construction waste, locally sourced products were utilized to sustain and honor the region. The residence is clad in locally salvaged barn siding and utilizes reclaimed VGDF boards for flooring and wall paneling. The green roof atop the residence’s garage minimizes the disturbance of native grasses and lauds the natural habitat where the building sits by serving as an additional habitat where native grass species can thrive.

Engineer – Structural: Core Engineering
General Contractor: Sprenger Construction Inc.
Landscape Architect: DKMullin Architects
Lighting Design: DKMullin Architects