Fitting into the landscape. Award-winning house by Johnsen Schmaling Architects.

Topo House by Johnson Schmaling Architects is a recipient of The American Institute of Architecture (AIA) 2014 Small Project Award in the category up to € 1,500,000 in construction cost. Topo House is a virtuous example of harmoniously blending with the landscape.



Topo House by US firm, Johnson Schmaling Architects is the recipient of a AIA 2014 Small Project Awards.



The residence in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin responds to the rolling hills of the site's natural topography, echoing the optical effect created when the wind blows over the crops and grasses of the prairie. 



Even the cladding is a kind of microcosm of the landscape: the skin is a high-performance, ventilated rainscreen system with concrete fibre panels, connected by 190 black anodized-aluminium fins, which create a kind of undulating texture that casts shifting shadows as the light changes.





This shifting geometry gives optical complexity to the simple volumes of the build nestled in the hillside, whose vegetated rooftop helps it merge with the landscape.





The approximately 270 square metre interior of Topo House is a “journey through the space”, says principal Sebastian Schmaling: it sends you through a series of connecting areas that end in the observatory above the dining room. And here you are treated to the delightful view of the majestic Blue Mounds State Park.

Project: Johnsen Schmaling Architects http://www.johnsenschmaling.com/
Location: Blue Mounds, Wisconsin USA
Year: 2014
Photography: © John J. Macaulay Courtesy of AIA
Awards:  2014 AIA Small Project Awards