Conceived as two distinct and opposing experiences, the mask acts as a protective veil, projecting one sensibility, while protecting another.

Eschewing typical residential forms and elements, the motor court and front façade project monumentality and formalism. Expansive planes of layered materials vary in color, texture and scale suggest distance between owner and visitor.

A 160-foot-long by 16-foot-wide cast-in-place concrete wall establishes a mask along the north façade. The home is further veiled by a row of weathering-steel panels which play with the perception of solid and void, lightness and solidity, and function as a screen to obscure the few points of visual connection between interior and exterior. From this sheltered space, a thin slot opens in the façade revealing the entry.

Once inside, however, visitors are welcomed to a bright and open interior organized around hearth room that opens onto a covered living area before spilling out into the landscaped courtyard.

From the sheltered vantage of the courtyard landscaped by Kaiser Trabue Landscape Architecture, the openness and transparency of the interior facing elevations stand in stark contrast to the outward facing elevations. As one moves through the home, the initial impression of a formal architecture gives way to a casual, generous residence, thereby completing the mask concept.