Elevated Living

Custom home designers and builders usually operate more in the customer service sphere than the art realm, bringing a client’s vision to life with talent and expertise. But when given a blank canvas and leeway to push creative bounds, they can create distinctive, one-of-a-kind builds.

So when Jade Mountain Builders, an Asheville-based company known for its sustainable work, got invited to be a preferred builder for the Cliffs at Walnut Cove community, owner Hans Doellgast saw a valuable opportunity. He approached architect Chad Harding of Harding Huebner and interior designer Brooke Kern about constructing a contemporary home that would flow seamlessly of the old World aesthetic of Walnut Cove.

Old Meets New

While timber suits the area’s character, Doellgast really wanted to use large expanses of glass to maximize a connection to the landscape. He and Huebner opted for a unique steel-timber hybrid frame that combined the rustic look of white oak with the stability of iron and carbon, which avoids the possibility of wood shrinking as it settles, thus endangering any glass walls.

The team also selected exterior materials that would gently weather over time, helping contemporary elements blend into the background. Since it contains copper, the Corten steel roofing started out shiny but soon oxidized, forming an aesthetic rusty patina. A reactive stain applied to regionally sourced sassafras siding caused an appealing charred appearance on the horizontal planks. And as the board-formed concrete (concrete molded with rough-sawn wood) was exposed to the elements, lichen and moss formed along the grain.

Using modest forms and honest materials, “the home echoes the regional vernacular, giving a modern interpretation of the barns, bridges, and agrarian structures seen throughout Appalachia,” explains Huebner. And while the house is anything but humble at nearly 6,000 square feet, it does possess a certain humility, deferring to the landscape rather than aggressively vying for attention.

Natural Materials - The white oak ceilings carry a feeling of warmth through the home. The timber, which has a tendency to twist over time, was sustainably sourced from Tennessee.

Outside In

Situated on a signature hole for the golf course, the property possesses a lowland mountain charm, boasting mature trees, lush laurels and rhododendrons, and interesting rock formations. Rather than clearcut the wooded lot and plop a manse at its center, as often happens in developments, the house is stitched around the site’s unique elements. “We wanted the design to be a response to more than a demand on the land,” says Huebner.

The subsequent footprint forms two distinct volumes connected by a gallery, with robust islands of trees shielding the house from the road and golf course. “Those buffers create a nice balance between being open to the landscape and enjoying a private refuge,” adds the architect.

Designed to feel like a lantern beckoning, the glowing entry space welcomes guests under a gable roof and through a 10-foot-tall pivot door crafted of warm white oak. Flamed bluestone spans the floor of both the outer entry and foyer, as does a board-formed concrete wall. “There’s a quiet communication from outside to in,” says Doellgast. Behind that wall are the motor court and garage, allowing even the everyday user to relish the graceful transition inside.

While the entryway is rooted on ground level, past the foyer, the land outside gently drops away, shifting the home into the treetops. “We purposely extruded the gallery to reflect walking through the woods,” says the architect. “You feel a visceral connection to the landscape as the house unfolds.”

Through a glass wall to one side, the cantilevered bridge looks out on a protected copse, while the opposite wall offers a prime display. “When building a house with so much glass, you have to be intentional about creating places to put art,” says Doellgast. Here, a mixed media piece by Asheville artist Ginger Huebner delivers a powerful pop of color.

Functional Elegance - Behind the kitchen is a functional secondary prep space, complete with an additional dishwasher and other appliances, a wet bar, refridgerator drawers, and an ice maker. A solid panel in between walls of glass showcases a painting by UNC Asheville grad Jeremy Russell. 

One Above

The house continues to unfurl as it transitions into a second volume; the largely glass-enclosed space allows inhabitants to exist within the motion of the trees and the shifting daylight.

Steel-and-wood columns delineate the kitchen, dining, and living areas, while the steel fireplace and kitchen range anchor either end of the grand room, mirroring one another. “I found the Illusion Orix quartzite for the kitchen backsplash at Mountain Marble & Granite before we even broke ground,” recalls Kern. With its veins of rusted iron, the unique stone informed nearly every other finish in the house, including the ebonized oak faces of the refrigerator and freezer. “Drilling holes into that precious slab for the floating steel shelves was the most terrifying part of this entire build,” jokes Doellgast.

When it came to choosing furniture for the model space, Kern again leaned on organic materials and a variety of wood tones to create warmth. “I wanted people to understand how comfortable modern architecture can feel.”

To further connect the space to the surrounding environment, Huebner strategically placed walls along the glass planes to protect certain views. A floating panel beside the dining area screens the table from the sun’s glare while housing an abstract painting by local artist Jeremy Russell. Another in the living room creates privacy from the road while displaying pieces by local painter Alicia Armstrong, whose work also appears in the primary bedroom.

Leading to a bonus living room downstairs, a custom stair by steel fabricator Perdue Studios reflects the artistry present throughout the build. “One of our finish carpenters spent two weeks carving all of the joints for the railing. You can run a hand around the entire piece without ever letting go,” explains Doellgast. “The goal for every house is to ultimately look like it’s simple,” adds Huebner. “But the more you expose the structure, remove walls, and minimize intersections, the more precise everything must be.”

In the end, the home accomplished just what the team had hoped: an elegant showcase of artistry and craft. 

RESOURCES
Alicia Armstrong
The Mill at Riverside
2000 Riverside Dr., Woodfin
By appointment only
(828) 776-1197
aliciaannearmstrong.com

Brooke Kern Interior Design
Asheville
@brooke_kern_interiordesign; brookekernid.com

Ginger Huebner
573 Fairview Rd., Ste. 3, Asheville
By appointment only
(828) 545-4827; gingerhuebnerart.com

Harding Huebner Architects
573 Fairview Rd., St. 1, Asheville
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
(828) 333-9018; hardinghuebner.com

Jade Mountain Builders 
362 Depot St. Ste. 10, Asheville
Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-7 p.m.
(828) 216-3948
jademountainbuilders.com

Jeremy Russell Art
26 Foundy St., Asheville
@jeremy.russell.art
jeremyrussellart.com

Mountain Marble & Granite 
91 Thompson St., Asheville
By appointment only
(828) 225-0001; mountainmarble.com