Pub. 4 2016 Directory

16 THE MONTANA ARCHITECT | 2016 | www.aia-mt.org The Grain Bin Residence Collaborative Design Architects Honor Award T he Grain Bin Residence sits among rolling hills on a large parcel in north central Montana. Commissioned as an alteration to an existing grain bin; the structure was placed on the site several years prior by a client hoping to one day make it home. Inside quiet ambient light reflects off the rolling galvanized surfaces as voices reverberate in the space. The architect’s goal was to preserve this sanctity. Upon arrival, guests approach the home from an elevated position, and are welcomed by a warm glow emitted from a narrow, wind blocking slot carved away from the grain bin walls. Visitors amble down the hillside and across a bridge that spans the gap between object and landscape. Inside, spaces share a conversation. The bridge connects landscape to home, then contin- ues through the house breaking through the far wall and cantilevering outside the face of the corrugated skin. Along the way, living spaces both puncture and are held away from the bin walls in a delicate play of positive and negative space. The living area is housed in one such space; suspended between the soaring tin roof and the ground plane. It offers views of both the landscape beyond and the interior of the grain bin walls. A glazed interior wall connects the living space to the corrugation across a narrow void preserved at the outside edge of the bin’s circle. It is here that a steel stair makes its way to the lower level. Morning light cuts across the living spaces casting shadows and vibrant light on the corrugated wall, while in the evenings a light from below softly illuminates interior spaces, creating dark silhouettes against the glass. While these spaces on the whole speak to a dialogue between contrasting volumes, the details reveal thoughtfulness in pattern, texture, and layering. This is most readily found in the bridge at the entry. Constructed of short bar grating panels, the staggered joints set up a rhythmic pattern. Elsewhere, the corrugation of the bin walls host the play of light and shadow as the stair railings overlap in a network of intersecting lines.