Faulkner Architects, a Northern Californian firm known for their dramatic, contemporary spaces and spectacular materiality, were approached to build a family home that would have a special relationship with the lakeshore and powerful pines of the property on Burnt Cedar Beach on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe. The resulting residence, called Burnt Cedar, fulfills the clients' desire for a minimalist, timeless, contemporary design that avoids gimmicks.

The natural landscape played an integral role in the home's design. Sandblasted, board-formed concrete echoes the texture of neighboring trees, and floor-to-ceiling cut-outs—inspired by the work of American artist Gordon Matta-Clark, known for his deconstructive "building cuts"—invite rays of sunlight into the interior. This light "[provides] relief from the intensity of the design, dissolving any tension between inside and outside, and casting a controlled illumination onto the reflective, polished, ebonized, concrete floor," explain the architects.

Other top priorities for the clients were privacy, as the residence is set on a major thoroughfare, and garage space for their wide-ranging car collection, which includes a 1974 VW Thing and a 2016 Tesla X.

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Project Credits:

Architect of Record: Faulkner Architects, Greg Faulkner, AIA
Builder/General Contractor: Crestwood Construction
Structural Engineer: CFBR Structural Group
Civil Engineer: Shaw Engineering
Landscape Design: Faulkner Architects
Lighting Design: Faulkner Architects
Cabinetry: designed by Faulkner Architects, fabricated by Ron Riedel
Interior Design: EKR Design Studios, Erika Rizzo

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An Uplifting Lake Tahoe Retreat Uses Light as a Building Material