Cliffside Homes Encourage Living on the Edge
Thrills are everyday affairs even in structurally sound homes on slopes and cliffs, thanks to jaw-dropping views and unique configurations
Houzz Contributor. My name is Bud Dietrich and I am an architect located in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. I am licensed to practice architecture in Illinois, Florida, New Jersey & Wisconsin and I am a certificate holder from the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB). Since 1996 I have worked from my home office and provide full architectural services exclusively to the single family residential market. My passion is to transform my clients' houses into their homes. I strive to have the "new" home accommodate my clients' lives without fighting them at every junction. I look to add curb appeal to encourage a beautiful streetscape. And I design any addition to look and feel like it has always been there.
Our projects have won numerous design awards as well as having...
Houzz Contributor. My name is Bud Dietrich and I am an architect located... More »
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What is it about living on the edge that we find so appealing? Is it the exhilaration of straddling the safe and the precarious? Or maybe it's the ability to be raised on high, as if on a perch, from where we can survey our world.
Whatever the reason, not all steep slopes and cliffs are to be avoided. Sure, there are those that shouldn't be built on. But there are some that hold amazing homes that can truly enrich the lives of those people who live in them. Homes such as Richard Meier's Douglas House, perched along a steep slope overlooking Lake Michigan, is one such example. And there are so many more.
Here are just a few.
Whatever the reason, not all steep slopes and cliffs are to be avoided. Sure, there are those that shouldn't be built on. But there are some that hold amazing homes that can truly enrich the lives of those people who live in them. Homes such as Richard Meier's Douglas House, perched along a steep slope overlooking Lake Michigan, is one such example. And there are so many more.
Here are just a few.
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| There are options for how a home is positioned on a sloped site. One is to place the house at the top of the rise, allowing some of the structure to cantilever out beyond the start of the falloff. Such a house can have a minimal impact on the site slope, minimizing the actual physical attachment the structure has to the site. |
Another approach is to have the structure stay away from the edge. This may, in fact, be mandated by local regulations that prohibit building too close to an environmentally sensitive area.
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When the structure is pulled back from the edge, the result is more like a home built on a conventional flat lot — a necessity in cases where the cliff is unstable, protected or too costly to build on.
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| Homes built along a slope, such as this one, can yield something quite unique. For example, whereas a typical home has public spaces (living room, kitchen, family room etc.) on the first floor with private rooms above, a home built along a slope might have the public areas at the top level, because that's where the entry is. With the bedroom areas at a lower level, the home is "upside down." |
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by DWYER DESIGN
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Whether it's the entire home or just a room, another approach is to go out beyond the edge. This is structurally a more daring approach, and the home becomes less safe abode and more aerie perch. This relationship between site and home is not for the faint of heart.
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Be it at the top of the cliff, away from the edge, along the slope or beyond the edge, a home built on a steeply sloping site or cliff has a unique connection to the land. The home can blend with its surroundings or, like the Douglas House, stand out and proclaim itself.
But one of the greatest aspects of living in a home perched on the edge is ...
But one of the greatest aspects of living in a home perched on the edge is ...
| ... having a spot that's safe and secure to view the world from — a nice place for watching the sun move across the sky and the surf pound away at the rocks. |
Ideabook published on Dec. 30, 2012.
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Not all contractors have the experience for this type of construction. Should you be so blessed as to have a lot like these, shop carefully for your design and construction team.
And remember, you don't need to live in a glass box in order to see the view.
Buliding or buying a house on the edge has it's advantages.