Galax House
The Frontier Group; This house is nestled into a mountainside and draws influences from Mountain, European and Asian architecture. The expansive pergola-covered central courtyard has windows on two sides looking out from the dining and living rooms and is balanced by the vertical stone-wrapped stair tower. Beams on the ceiling of the living room continue the lines of the pergola, bringing the geometry from outside through the core of the house and strengthening the inside-outside connection. Holding the loft back from above the northern end of the living room created a dramatic two-story corner window, opening up to the long-range views down the valley and the closer views of the forest.