The Ferrous House by Johnsen Schmaling Architects
The Ferrous House by Johnsen Schmaling Architects
Johnsen Schmaling Architects have converted an obselete suburban structure into an energy conscious home.
The Ferrous house uses the existing foundations, main perimeter wall and plumbing cores of a dillapidated 70’s ranch. The interior was gutted and reorganised to produce a modern family home. The new insertions include a cantilever over the edge of the building to add more space without changing the original footprint, a new roof supported by exposed metal and wood trusses, a north facing clerestory and cedar-clad storage cabinets.
Throughout the house, sustainable systems and materials were specified, including low-VOC paints and stains, recycled steel and reclaimed and locally harvested woods and veneers. The Nano-gel-filled north-facing clerestory minimises the need for artificial light. Bamboo has been planted adjacent to the patio and will, in time, mature into a screen providing shade.
The rectangular house is wrapped on three sides with a curtain of weathering steel panels, which the architect describes as ‘the warm colour of ferrous corrosion echoing the hues of the derelict farm equipment left behind on the area’s abandoned pastures. The steel wrapper protects the inside of the house from the scrutiny of nearly neighbours and from the elements’.
Location: Spring Prairie, Wisconsin, USA
Type of Project: single family house
Structural Engineers: Patera, LLC
Project Architect: Johnsen Schmaling Architects
Client: Eric and JJ Edstrom
Area: 140 m
Photography: Doug Edmunds
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