Moose Road House in California, by Mork-Ulnes Architects

Exterior view of Moose Road House with the lights on and surrounding greenery. The house features a three-finger design and large windows
Architect Casper Mork-Ulnes was approached by two San Francisco couples to create a sleek retreat a hundred miles or so north up the 101, deep in Californian wine country
(Image credit: TBC)
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Alternative exterior view of Moose Road House and surrounding greenery during the day

The design had to be low-cost but also prefabricated, as the location was hard to access with heavy machinery and trucks

(Image credit: TBC)

Alternative exterior view of Moose Road House and surrounding greenery during the day

The key generator of the form was the unspoilt views across the surrounding hills. Perversely, this also kept costs down. 'We reduced the number of windows to capture just the essential views,' says Mork-Ulnes. As a result, the house spreads across the site like a three-fingered mitten laid upon the ground, each finger terminating in an expansive glazed wall and a carefully considered vista

(Image credit: TBC)

Close up exterior view of Moose Road House, nearby trees and a person dressed in black during the day

Local firm Double-D Engineering created a steel stilt framework to keep the structure above (and between) tree roots, ensuring the building touched lightly upon its site

(Image credit: TBC)

Exterior view of the entrance to Moose Road House during the day. The entrance features steps and a tall, narrow opening and there are trees nearby

The entrance is up six steps, mounted above a tiny concrete foundation, leading you straight into the living space

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Interior view of a space at Moose Road House featuring wood panelled walls, a black fireplace, chopped wood on the floor, a chair and floor-to-ceiling windows and doors offering a view of the trees outside

Inside, the viewing axes shoot off in the three carefully chosen directions, looking across to Eagle Rock, a local landmark, as well as a distant ridge and the vineyard-filled valley

(Image credit: TBC)

Interior view of the kitchen area at Moose Road House featuring wood panelled walls, red pendant lights, shelving with various items, two wooden counters with a hob and sink, windows and doors

The open-plan living space features great expanses of raw plywood and OSB (oriented strand board) surfaces

(Image credit: TBC)

View of a space at Moose Road House featuring wood panelled walls, a chair, a table which is burnt at one end and floor-to-ceiling windows

This is essentially a shelter for a very outdoor-focused lifestyle, and fixtures and fittings are kept to a bare minimum. The San Francisco artist Yvonne Mouser contributed a selection of simple furniture using burnt wood

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Partial interior view of a bedroom at Moose Road House featuring wood panelled walls, a bed, spotlights and a floor-to-ceiling window offering a view of the trees outside

The bedrooms and bathrooms occupy the other two fingers of the structure

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Exterior view of Moose Road House with the lights on and surrounding greenery at night. There is a person inside standing by the window and the moon can be seen in the distance

The Moose Road House is shaped by the ingenious response to its site, respect for which has served up a design that turns limitations into bold, elegant and apparently uncompromising architecture

(Image credit: TBC)
Ellie Stathaki

Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).

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