This Off-Grid Design Studio Feels Like It’s Floating in a Forest
Woodland views take center stage in this backyard office crafted from cedar, glass, and concrete .
Woodland views take center stage in this backyard office crafted from cedar, glass, and concrete.
Our Focus series shines the spotlight on the details: the extraordinary materials, spaces, and ideas that take great projects to the next level.
Sharon and Mike Matas’s backyard studio in Healdsburg, California, feels less like an office and more like a tree house. "The design allows the owners to work fully immersed in a forest of Douglas fir, madrone, and oak trees," says architect Robert Swatt of Swatt Miers Architects.
Robert Swatt of Swatt Miers Architects designed this off-grid studio in Healdsburg with glass walls that provide the feeling of working in nature.
Photo by Jason Liske Photography
A ceiling and floor made from western red cedar pay tribute to the forested landscape.
Photo by Jason Liske Photography
Supported by a pair of extra-wide, cast-in-place concrete pillars, the net-zero, off-grid studio cantilevers over a steep wooded hillside. "Out of respect for the beauty of the site, one of our earliest goals was to keep the architecture light on the land," Swatt says. "The structure is partially located above a level pad, and partially over a decline. The floor is lifted so it hovers above the ground, allowing the land and nature to remain untouched."
Sunlight pours through the surrounding treetops, illuminating the forest floor and the interior of the studio.
Photo by Jason Liske Photography
See the full story on Dwell.com: This Off-Grid Design Studio Feels Like It’s Floating in a Forest
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