Writer, J. Parker Huber, commissioned Michael Singer to design a private residence for a one-half acre site overlooking the Connecticut River in Brattleboro, Vermont. Singer formed a design team with Sterling McMurrin and builder Peter Vandertuin to design and build a 1,300-square-foot residence with energy efficiency, habitat restoration, and privacy as key design guidelines for the project. The site is located in a residential area. Precast concrete walls and a wooden trellis form the front of the house, screening it from the street. The back opens to the river views. The fifteen-foot-high living room is the center of the house, wrapped by a small bedroom, office and kitchen. Singer lowered the land in the back of the house to reveal the river. The earth from this excavation was transferred to the front yard, creating twelve-foot-high, shaped earth mounds. Alongside the mounds, a grove of indigenous trees in the front yard provides a distinctive and private setting for the residence. This project was selected as a "Record House" and published in Architectural Record in April 1999.

Artist/Designer: Michael Singer
Project Manager: Sterling McMurrin
Builder: Peter Vandertuin
Photography: David Stansbury

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