Leit House | Schwartz and Architecture

Millions of years ago, the fiery volcanoes of Sonoma Valley spewed hot magma across the landscape. As the lava cooled, the eruption’s gases became trapped, forming porous cavities instead of crystallizing into dense stone. In 2017, fire transformed this landscape again, revealing the ancient igneous rocks still strewn across the burnt, yet strangely beautiful and resilient, landscape.
Despite, or perhaps because of, the project’s small scale and basic functions, every detail counts. It is a simple pavilion set along a dense service core. But the uncanny feeling of lightness in the dark massive roof is the critical motif for the project. We treated the structure as a sculptural object, like an igneous rock, surprising in its lightness despite all appearances. Please contact us for more detailed information.

Lead Architects: Neal Schwartz, Christopher Baile

Photography: Douglas Sterling Photography

Website: https://www.douglassterling.com/portfolio.html