Awards and Publications
2025 Modapalooza Tour
2026 Matsumoto Second Place Public Voting Award
2026 Wall Street Journal

The owners fell in love with the sloping site, mature trees, and breathtaking views of the property, but felt the original house did not fully realize the land’s potential. Early sketches revealed an opportunity to embrace the landscape by utilizing the steep hillside to foster a deeper connection to the site. Working within the existing footprint to preserve trees and reduce site impact, the design organizes the home into the hillside, embracing the steep terrain while maximizing lake views.

Inspired by the owners' Egyptian heritage, the home’s interiors celebrate a combination of global culture and North Carolinian craft. Beyond the walls, the project actively restores its ecosystem through invasive species removal, pollinator gardens, and strategic runoff filtration, ensuring the residence not only inhabits the land but heals it.

Photography
© Abigail Jackson Photography

Structural Engineer
Scalene Design

Contractor
Toma Townsend Construction

The journey begins at an entry tucked behind a stone garden wall, where the architecture gradually unfolds as one descends the hill. A material palette of zinc, wood siding and regional stone anchors the home to its environment, while a single-sloped roofline directs the eye toward the water.

Interior spaces are scaled to balance public and private life; expansive living areas are located at the heart of the home to flow onto terraces for large family gatherings, while intimate bedrooms are located on the ends to offer privacy and quiet retreat.

Working primarily within the existing footprint of the house, we sought to sit naturally within the site while increasing views from the interior toward the lake. The single shed roof and simple modern material palette fits within the natural mid-century modernist roots of the neighborhood and nearby neighbors.

An upper level garden terrace is sunlit and protected from deer and rabbits, with a bed wall installation by the architects, celebrating cultivation using renewable materials.