Mossy Rock House, Free Union, Virginia Timber Building, USA Real Estate, Architecture Photography
Mossy Rock House in Free Union Virginia
Aug 9, 2022
Architecture: Bushman Dreyfus Architects
Location: Free Union, Virginia, USA

Photos: Scott Smith Photography, Will Kerner Photography and Stephen Barling Photography
Mossy Rock House, Virginia
The Mossy Rock House in central Virginia combines vernacular simplicity with contemporary openness. The owner, who retains fond memories of vast table-flat spaces from growing up in Iowa, asked for a structure combining contemporary aesthetics with the geometries of simple barn. Tucked at the end of a long field, the house is protected by a slight rise in the land to the west. The field is maintained by the adjacent farm. Native wildflower perennials and small areas of turf surround the domestic spaces. Siting and placement of the structure are very important to the project.
The western aspect is nothing but sky and field. The house is sited to capitalize on this expansive, beautiful, and very simple meeting of sky and grass and to find what mid-western immensity we could in the rolling Virginia topography. Two giant white oak trees command the rear of the house, which pushes up as close to them as is prudent. Retaining walls define a level place for the house, allowing for an intimate connection between outside and inside.

The simple design concept of placing main living spaces and private bedrooms in separate volumes links the tw...