As the name suggests, a central trellis became the organizing principle for this home’s three gabled pavilions, laid out near the top of a knoll. The design rectifies the failing of an older house that was plopped down right on top of the rise. “It’s a beautiful little knoll but they didn’t get to enjoy the knoll top,” says Nick Noyes, AIA. “What Frank Lloyd Wright did at Taliesin West was very much on our minds. He saved the knoll top and wrapped the house around it.” The concept, then, turned on how best to enjoy the topographically varied outdoor spaces around the house.
“It’s very hot there in the summer,” Nick says. “The idea was to have a lot of trellis and exterior episodes that are very different from each other.” The long steel trellis is oriented to mountain views to the north and valley views to the south. At the entry it joins the open-plan living volume to the east and the primary suite volume to the west. Housing two guest bedrooms and a bath, the offset third pavilion sits slightly lower on the knoll. There, a central outdoor lounge neatly connects it to the main living pavilion.
In keeping with the vision for the house as a hub for outdoor activity, each of the three pavilions steps out to decks through full-height glass doors: the guest suite to the central lounge, the main living space to north and south decks, and the primary suite to the pool terrace. “At the northern side you are directed to the knoll top, where there’s a firepit and a beautiful place to sit under heritage oaks,” Nick says.
In this wildfire-prone region, building materials were chosen for their heat resilience. The slab-on-grade house has a corrugated metal roof, exposed steel brackets supporting deep overhangs, class A composite siding, aluminum windows, and of course the sweeping steel trellis. At 2½ inches thick, the cypress decking around the pool is considered fire-resistant.
Interiors consist mostly of locally sourced materials including salvaged cypress on the walls, ceilings, and casework; board-formed concrete; and blackened steel details. Along with the use of Zellige tiles and Tadelakt plaster in the baths, these materials give the house a handcrafted feel.
Outdoors, the landscape design on this 14-acre property created a wildfire-compliant clearing around the house and prioritized drought- and fire-resistant native planting. A photovoltaic array produces more energy than the house uses, and batteries store backup power for use during California’s rolling summer blackouts. “It’s such a careful reading of that region,” our jury concluded.
Honor Award
Custom Period or Vernacular House
Nick Noyes Architecture
Trellis House
Geyserville, California
Project Credits
Architect: Nick Noyes, FAIA; Michael Perkins, Nick Noyes Architecture, San Francisco
Builder: Tim Agapoff Construction, Calistoga, California
Interior designer: Elizabeth Rose Jackson Interiors, San Anselmo, California
Landscape architect: Alexis Woods Landscape Design, San Francisco
Engineer: Dave Duncan, Duncan Engineering, Mendocino, California
Other: Evan Shively, Arborica, West Marin, California
Energy consultant: Rick’s Energy Solutions, Santa Rosa, California
Project size: 2,200 square feet
Site size: 0.14 acre
Construction cost: Withheld
Photography: Suzanna Scott Photography
Key Products
Bath Ventilation: Panasonic
Cladding: TruExterior
Cooking vent hood: Viking
Cooktop/range: Sub-Zero
Dishwasher: Miele
Drywall: Georgia Pacific
Entry doors: Crittall Steel Doors (main house), Kolbe (guest house)
Exterior lighting: Rejuvenation
Fasteners: Simpson Strong-Tie
Faucets: Watermark, The Galley
Foundation: Board-formed concrete
HVAC: Mitsubishi
Insulation: Owens Corning
Microwave drawer: Wolf
Millwork: TruExterior
Outdoor grill: Lynx
Paints/stains: Benjamin Moore
Refrigerator: Sub-Zero
Roofing: Metal Sales
Roof windows: VELUX
Salvaged decking: Arborica
Sinks: Kohler, Rohl
Toilets: TOTO
Trusses: ALL TRUSS
Tubs: America
Underlayment: GRACE ICE & WATER SHIELD
Washer/dryer: GE
Windows: Bonelli (main house), Kolbe (guest house)