Set in a remote district just outside Halfway, Oregon, this working ranch required a water reserve for fire fighting for the newly constructed ranch house. This pragmatic requirement was the catalyst for the unique design approach — having the water reserve serve a dual purpose: fitness and firefighting. Borrowing from the surrounding landscape, two masses — one gabled mass and one shed form — are skewed to each other, recalling the layered hills that surround the home. Internally, the two masses give way to an open, unencumbered space. The use of wood timbers, so fitting for this setting, forms the rhythm to the design, with glass infill opening the space to the surrounding landscape. The calm blue pool brings all of these elements together, serving as a complement to the green prairie in summer and the snow-covered hills in winter.
