EMBANKMENT

Uniting the turbulent river oxbow to the west and the excavated lake to the east, Embankment strikes an axis between the natural and man-made worlds. This link acts as an according force, around which program, circulation, and views are bound.

Guests experience a choreographed procession along the axis as the ascend Embankment’s mounded perch, rising above the adjoining fields as they’re teased with vignetted views of the surrounding landscape. As they advance through the heavy steel entry door, they are rewarded with a carefully framed view of the rugged landscape to the west: extending through the glass wall at the opposite end of the living room, the axis recedes into the landscape as it descends the mound through cleft rows of prairie grasses, the surface itself transitioning from hard, manufactured materials to soft wood, then tapering off into only a narrow suggestion of a path through matted grass as it finally reaches the bank of the river. The materials of the house itself reflect this same connection, marrying natural and man-made wherever possible. Weathered steel, raw concrete, and earthly wood proliferate throughout the project, serving as a constant reminder of the reciprocity between the two worlds.