"The first act of building on any site is its clearing to receive the building- my concept is to make this act an aesthetic and spatial one, to turn this often overlooked act into an artistic condition and so, I conceived of "A Clearing In The Forest." My goal is to put people in touch with what Georges Bataille called "the glorious incandescence of the sun..."

     The clearing takes shape as a large oval, oriented south. By sculpting the existing mass of trees to define the space it becomes a courtyard within, an aperture to the sky. By its orientation, the site has a connection to the cosmos, to the sun, the sky, and the moon.

     A narrow slice through the trees extends a pathway leading from the drive to the house. On approaching the oval a guest or occupant will have a sense of ritual and anticipation, a sense of magic upon arrival.

     A long rectangular house spans the length of the oval. The house is built predominately of glass with protruding ebonized wood volumes. The entry is a stone terrace which receives the narrow path, and this leads into the glass volume which contains the various functions of the house. The generally open plan can be manipulated into numerous smaller spaces by adjusting sliding wood panels and sheer curtains. A long narrow lap pool emphasizes the linear condition of the design by running parallel with the house. Wood volumes house the private rooms, and the roof and ceiling open up to the sky by a series of slots that run the length of the house. The skylights create an ever changing natural light work in the house.