A Striking Hillside Home

When working on this house in New York state, architect Kurt Ofer got to tackle two important tasks: He designed a house that curves on a hillside lot, and he incorporated a lot of details that allow the homeowners to save energy. The house has an insulated foundation, low-e coated Pella windows, window shades, a high-efficiency wood-fired furnace, and a heat-recovery ventilator. Even with all the state-of-the-art details, the house has a warm, inviting interior, largely thanks to lumber harvested from a cherry tree that had been knocked over on the property. This article includes a sidebar by builder Steven Smith, who writes about his experience building a curved house.

Magazine extra: This wasn't the first project where the author/architect incorporated curves. Read "Arch-Top in the Valley," a profile of Ofer's own home.