Dixon Ranch, an ultra-contemporary hilltop home in Geyersville, Calif., was designed and engineered by Nielsen-Schuh Architects, Sonoma, Calif. The metal roof and wall panels combined with floor-to-ceiling, 17-foot- (5-m-) tall windows, lend textural interest and great contrast to the home. The house was built on a grid system, similarly spaced and sized at 5.4-foot (2- m) centers so mullions line up with rafters. Taking cues from the natural environment, the architects built the home with angled roof structures framed in a sparse, bold steelwork, concrete and exposed metal.
Raw, board-cast concrete walls form the core of the building, while glass curtainwalls open up to the expanse of rolling hills. The natural curvature of the terrain was left intact and the buildings and site layout were designed to reflect the mountain backdrop. The entire house is pleasingly asymmetrical with soaring views.
“We pursue ideas expressive of structure and refined use of materials, with dynamic flowing spaces that become a part of the setting,” said Richard Schuh, co-principal at Nielsen: Schuh Architects. “We seek a modern sensibility that also embraces a richness and depth of character. Our priorities include site sensitivity, meaningful functional relationships and environmental sustainability—balanced by a personalized approach to the process of creating architecture with our clients.”
Custom-Bilt Metals, Chino, Calif., supplied 90 squares (836 m2) of its 16-inch (406-mm) Titan standing-seam CB- 150 metal roof panels with a 1 1/2-inch (38-mm) seam in pre-weathered Galvalume, and 40 squares (372 m2) of its 22-gauge Contour 7/8-inch (22-mm) corrugated siding in A-606 Weathering Steel. A factory-trained operator fabricated the Titan standing-seam CB-150 panels on-site.
“Because the homeowner and architect required that no roofing seams show on the roof, and since the roof is the focal point of the home on arrival at the home from the bluff above it, the roof required more than 20 53-foot- [16-m-] long panels installed with a crane in single pieces to avoid damage,” said Rick Anderson of RLA Sheetmetal, Healdsburg, Calif., the installer. “The roof then stepped down to a section of 40 foot panels; all of which other vendors couldn’t manufacture or ship to these large specifications. Custom- Bilt was the material choice given their level of service and the material was rolled on-site by them which was essential to the success of our installation.”
Eddinger Enterprises, Healdsburg, was the general contractor, and The Welding Shop, Healdsburg, was the fabricator.
Custom-Bilt Metals, www.custombiltmetals.com
