Ridge House
Atop this ridgeline, the main house's simple, 128’-long gabled structure is threaded within the landscape, emerging from the woods into a clearing that looks out to the mountains. On approach, there is no traditional front door. Rather, one enters via a pass-through space at the center of the structure, a dynamic threshold indicated by board-formed concrete walls. Upon entry, one is able to access a social wing of the house, framing vistas to the Catskills and Taconics, or a more secluded bedroom wing that tucks back into the forest.
Inside, the main social space consolidates the kitchen, dining area, and living room into a single lofted room. The gable peaks at 20 feet, creating an airy interior. One end of the social space is a custom concrete kitchen island while on the opposite side of the space is a concrete fireplace.
On either side of these two extrusions, 30 foot expanses of glass highlight the main attraction—unimpeded views to the two mountain ranges, the defining characteristic of the site that drew the client to the property.
“When I saw this site, with its remarkable views to not one but two mountain ranges, I knew I had something special,” shared the client, a practicing psychologist.
“In collaborating with Worrell Yeung, my main responsibility was to allow them to do what they do best, which is create a sensitive, expressive experience of undeniable beauty. The result speaks for itself.”
Extending from this social space, a covered veranda looking to the west allows for
indoor/outdoor enjoyment of the Catskills. Custom lighting designed by Worrell Yeung for Lambert & Fils descends over the dining table. In profile, the metal fixtures are twin gables, casting light up to the lofted ceiling and down to the custom dining table fabricated by Bien Hecho. Interior design was done by Colony, which took an approach of layered warmth offset by the cool tones of indigo grey for the personal and private areas of the home.
Two bedrooms and a primary suite compose the more private wing of the house. Accessed on the opposite side of the entry’s dynamic threshold, a long hallway runs along the east side of the structure, with views to the Taconics and surrounding woods on one side and a long wall of white-oak cladding on the opposite, with doors to the bedrooms subtly indicated by metal hardware.
In these private spaces, Worrell Yeung remains committed to the beauty of simple geometries, adhering to an 8x8 module across the main house and barn. The far wall of each guest bedroom is a large window looking out onto the landscape. Because of the window’s size, seven by nine feet, and its simplicity free of fittings and adornments, it would be nearly impossible to allow it to open. To solve this, Worrell Yeung designed one section of the square as a “visionless window” of dark-stained white oak, which acts as a vent and allows fresh air to enter the room.
Sited at the end of the long hallway, the primary suite occupies the southern end of the residence and continues this adherence to geometric purity. Three of the four walls in the primary suite include a large square window with its respective “visionless” complement. In front of one window, a large custom concrete bathtub affords views west while soaking. A freestanding vanity and shower also appear within the main space, with other facilities tucked behind the fourth wall of the primary suite.
Material palette and inspiration
A utilitarian material palette is a hallmark of all structures. The main house is wrapped in corrugated metal, bookended with board-formed concrete walls. The barn is a corten marvel.
Each structure, with its efficient configuration and elemental, untreated materiality is meant to weather at different rates and be a barometer to the elements of the surrounding site over time.
“Even in the earliest correspondence with our client, it became clear we were interested in the same concepts—landscape as art, architecture elevating the experience of nature, making visible the mark of human intervention,” Worrell Yeung co-founder Max Worrell shared.
“From land art to the farmhouse vernacular to the textural nuance of a cut log to observing the accidental beauty of how fallen trees rest on a forest floor, Ridge House is the consolidation of references and allusions, and the synthesis of how they can create a timeless architecture that can co-exist in a unique landscape environment,” Yeung concluded.
Among the quaint villages and farms that Columbia County is known for, Ridge House and Barn remains singular thanks to this site with views to the Taconics and Catskills and the way in which architect, interior designer, landscape architect, and client accord yielded a home that can take celebrate this location to its fullest extent.
