Sun Valley Home and Design / Fall 2005 / Neoteric Geometry

Neoteric Geometry

Living in the Golden Mean

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Modern architecture is uncomfortable to some people. It may be perceived as a discordant collection of stripped-down lines and planes, devoid of any warmth or soul. Going against conventional ideas of the way things should look, it is most often accused of being “cold.” Proponents, on the other hand, see modernism as a way of thinking that allows for infinite possibilities of form. They find beauty in its logic, order, and elemental purity.

Coty Sidnam, of Sidnam Petrone Gartner Architects, is one such visionary. Her recent house in Ketchum, a meticulous and focused application of universal principles of design, elevates the spirit of those who experience it.

At first glance, the house is modern in an obvious way: its flat roof, aluminum storefront windows, and geometric façade immediately identify it as nontraditional. However, further scrutiny reveals grand themes and studied details, all designed with rigorous, seasoned professionalism—and erudite exuberance.

Sidnam and the owners found in each other an enthusiastic like-mindedness that propelled the project forward. A salon of ideas was exchanged, intelligent choices were made, experimentation was encouraged, and theory was put into practice. The owners came to the table steeped in experience with modern architecture, and with considerable understanding of its concepts and origins. As Sidnam explains, “The issues of modernist thinking can be found in many traditional buildings that investigate the nature of space, opening, wall, surface, edge, entry, progression, materials, daylight, etc.—buildings like John Soane’s house in London, Katsura in Japan, and the Pantheon in Rome.” Sources for the owners’ inspiration ranged from Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoie to Eero Saarinen’s Deere and Co. headquarters to Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello.

The owners charged the architects with the task of designing a house that appeared weightless and ethereal. They wanted five bedrooms, high ceilings, clean lines, and comfortable and generous spaces, all within as few square feet as possible. Three sets of sketches and schematic models were presented, and the scheme that was ultimately chosen originated with Bill Petrone. Sidnam and Sandra Aranguren-Langstrom developed the idea into a drawing set with Petrone’s input and critique.

The result, referred to as the “tube held aloft” scheme, is explained by Sidnam as “the juxtaposition of and intersection between a heavy, grounded form and a section of tube that can be seen to extend infinitely.” North and south window walls blur the difference between inside and out, and smaller, punched openings on the east and west sides provide views and light while maintaining the integrity of the solid tube. Formally, the plan is straightforward and logical. The concrete base contains utility areas and the exercise room. Public spaces in the loft-like top level have the best views. The kitchen, dining and living areas, defined by subtle level changes, occupy a single rectangle of space. The entry and most important private spaces, such as the master suite and family room, are located in the vertical concrete fin. The negative space piercing through the center of the building contains the magnificent stair—a sublime shaft of glowing, green light. >>>