- Project: House in the Woods
- Architect: Tom Lontine Architect
- Location: United States, Deep River, Connecticut
- Year: 2023
- Area: 409 m2
- Photography: Studio Nicholas Venezia
A Quiet Modern Home Rooted in the Woodland
Set on a sloped, wooded site overlooking the Connecticut River, House in the Woods by Tom Lontine Architect positions itself as a low-profile pavilion quietly immersed in nature. At just 56 feet above the street, the home slices into the hillside; its dark-stained cedar cladding and deep horizontality help it recede beneath the canopy of trees. Designed for a pair of professionals looking to age in place, the design marries accessibility with the poetic ambition of dissolving into the woodland.
Site Strategy & Landscape Dialogue
The design responds directly to site constraints and opportunities. Rather than dominating the land, the building embeds itself: concrete retaining walls secure structure into the ledge and wood-framing maintains a domestic scale.
Arrival is through a long exterior stair that threads beneath one wing and then emerges into a planted courtyard. From the entrance, the vista is intentional: the eye is drawn through the living pavilion to the trees beyond.
The two lateral wings — one housing a guest suite and service areas, the other the primary suite — act like “horse blinders”, screening neighbouring dwellings while directing views outward toward the river and forest.
Large expanses of glazing on the north-facing side open the home to sweeping views toward the forest and river, while stepped windows along the rear hillside reflect the changing topography.
Materials, Form & Spatial Concept
Architecturally, the home draws on mid-century modern precedents, with the pavilion-like roof sheltering indoor and outdoor entertaining spaces alike. The building’s low silhouette and dark timber skin help it merge with the tree trunks and shadows of the site.
Inside, the palette is restrained: warm wood surfaces, slender black structural columns (echoing tree trunks), and expansive glazing blur the boundary between interior and exterior. A welded steel partition, housing a double-sided fireplace, modestly divides the living zone into cooking, dining, entertaining and quiet gathering without defeating openness.
Accessibility, Longevity & Lifestyle
Commissioned by clients seeking a home to age in comfortably, the design emphasizes single-story living across most of the volume, with thoughtful circulation and gentle transitions. The deeply integrated site strategy also means fewer visual distractions and a calm, nature-centric lifestyle—viewing the surrounding forest and river becomes part of the daily routine.
During construction, the site’s constraints—topography, tree preservation, ledge excavation and pandemic-era supply chain disruptions—were carefully managed to result in the quietly composed home we see.
Why This Project Matters
In an age when many residences shout with gesture and landmark ambitions, House in the Woods stands out for its humility and clarity of purpose. It showcases how modern architecture can:
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respect and embed into challenging natural topography
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use material, form and siting to reduce visual impact while enhancing nature connection
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deliver design that supports both accessibility and timelessness
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reveal itself slowly, with subtle gestures and intentional framing rather than dominating drama
For students, practitioners and enthusiasts, the project offers a blueprint for thoughtful residential design: how to shape space for aging, how to mediate view and privacy, how to knit architecture to landscape.
With House in the Woods, Tom Lontine Architect achieves a delicate fusion: a modern home suffused with warmth, rooted in the landscape rather than imposed upon it. It is not simply about “living in the woods” but living with the woods — where each window frames a tree, each material echoes the forest and each volume extends the idea of home into nature. It stands as a quietly confident contribution to contemporary residential architecture.
