Helsel HouseX

The spine is the structural center, a room of western red cedar linking entry and deck in transition from public to private, world to wood. It frames views of the interior volumes and the forest and hills beyond. Distinct from the reticent panel system of the walls, its frank structural articulation and material expression reveal and describe the process of its construction.

The use of cedar afforded us with an opportunity to articulate the relationship between the part and the whole. The second floor joists are revealed when they cross into the cedar spine monumental frame; their 16 inch centers form a rhythm in the spine and contrast its greater scale (calibrate). The exterior walls are panels of t&g cedar siding, creating a solid appearance which conceals their frame structure and contrasts with the overt structure of the spine. The volume these walls describe is intersected by the spine, and these points reveal the transition from wall to frame.