Fernwood Residence

Bethesda, USA

Visualization © Clayton Korte

Single Houses

Architects: Clayton Korte

Location: Bethesda, USA

Located in an established neighborhood, the home is situated within a tight canopy of mature oak and beech trees and organized to take advantage of natural topography allowing living spaces to meet natural grade on two levels. To achieve the owners’ vision of a home equally suited for entertaining friends and relaxed living for family, this residence is designed with varied ceiling heights and room volumes that become more spacious in areas that open up to natural views.

Guests are guided to the entry through a central treed courtyard, which uses lush native plantings to focus the core of the house to the inner beauty of the site. Living and sleeping spaces enjoy an added veil of privacy from a curtain of existing mature planting, dissolving indoor/outdoor boundaries with composed views to their immediate landscape. Roof extensions and light shelves create clear definition between vertical spaces. Exterior materials are meant to weather over time to match the surroundings.