BLENDING INTO THE LANDSCAPE

One of the finest compliments a new house can be given is that it appears to have always been there—that it looks "natural" in its setting. Looking as if it belongs is universally understood as a good thing. Yet most houses do not give that impression at all. Conventional building practices more often go in the opposite direction. Many builders go to great lengths to keep natural elements away from houses; they tame unruly landscapes, they raise the floors high off the damp ground, and they do their best to block the effects of hot sun, cold air, snow, and rain.

Romantic designers, by contrast, want to provide all the comforts of shelter while bringing the homeowners as close to nature as possible. Some romantic homes take the notion of being in touch with the landscape literally. Obie Bowman has designed grass-covered roofs, or tucked the house into the side of a cliff, or squeezed the house in between stands of trees. The aim of many romantic designers is to achieve a seamless connection between house and ground. In this approach, mature existing plantings are preserved wherever possible; they become focal points visible from the interior and, in some instances, elements around which the exterior is composed. A romantic architect may engineer the house to allow stones or trees to remain in their original locations, with the house built around them. Another way of fitting into the landscape involves choosing colors and materials that blend the house into its setting. The design may not be subservient to the shape of the land, yet coloration and texture tie the house to the site. Still another technique involves positioning and laying out the house and designing its silhouette in relation to the existing or intended landscape but letting the house read as a clearly independent object. Hugh Newell Jacobsen's all-white houses often do this. When seen from the landscape, they clearly belong even though they stand out. There is no one single way to blend a home into the landscape; a variety of techniques can achieve that result.