Ann Arbor, United States of America

The Matchbox House

South/East Elevation

Steve Maylone, Courtesy of BAU. Published on October 24, 2012.

The wooded site location became the beginning point for the concept of this project and the design was kept very minimal and simple. In elevation it is the classic 4 sided house with a 45 degree roof. To further illustrate this idea, the house was raised on a concrete plinth that is inset, thereby emphasizing the bottom two corners which help articulate the houses edges and the fact that it is this object that is placed within these woods.

South/West Elevation

Steve Maylone, Courtesy of BAU. Published on October 24, 2012.

In plan, the house took on the qualities of a “matchbox” (hence the name) in which there is an outer wrapper (in this case, standing seam metal) and an inner box. Because the house has 4 “quadrants” in elevation, the inner box was subdivided into 4 smaller boxes (in cedar siding, horizontal and vertical, as well as composite board), which appear to push and pull independently of each other. As a result, some of these quadrants push out of the outer wrapper on one end and therefore create “outdoor” space on the other end, but space that is still within the confines of the exterior wrapper.

East Elevation

Steve Maylone. Published on October 24, 2012.

While sustainability and sensitivity to the environment from the start of the design (the house is on track to receive LEED Platinum certification), being “green” was not something that we thought needed to be expressed aesthetically, but was viewed as inherently another part of the design process and construction, as is structure and function. Many of the green features result in a more efficient house by increasing the internal comfort in the home while decreasing energy bills. Other more apparent features include FSC certified wood for the upstairs floors, all stair work, the kitchen and bathroom cabinetry, and interior doors. The wood used for the base, window, and door trim all come from a demolished barn in Michigan. Low and no VOC paint was used throughout. All plumbing fixtures are low-flow. As an important part of the design was for the house to appear in the woods and for the trees to come as close to the house as possible, no conventional turf will be planted and only the necessary area needed for construction, driveway, and septic fields was disturbed during construction, and will be replanted with only native planting, therefore eliminating the need for an irrigation system.