Atelier Jørgensen's Mount Veeder Outpost Overlooks Wine Country

Atelier Jørgensen — helmed by architect Brandon Jørgensen — has just offered up a deeper look at its Wine Country-situated family retreat — the Mount Veeder Outpost.

Nestled at the side of Mount Veeder and framed by the blackened remnants of charred redwoods from recent forest fires, the two-story cube overlooks Napa — more precisely Yountville and Stags Leap. In efforts to bring family and friends together — two things that go hand-in-hand with wine — the 2,316 sq-ft getaway home reflects the owners’ personal connection with Southern California and tells of a childhood home that was lost in the flames.

The home features a parabolic roof and an off-center entry courtyard that is punctuated by dark corrugated steel cladding and straight lines. The interior is given warmth with the use of Russian Birch nautical plywood. The entire home sees five small openings where very compact floor-to-ceiling openings are set in place to allow for morning or evening views of the forest and valley beyond. The prominent 30-foot-tall glazing has also been arranged so that direct sunlight never enters the main bedroom in the morning, and with the absence of any window coverings, it serves as only a barrier between hot and cold.

The structure gets its name “Outpost” from the orientation of the ceiling. The ceiling is not perceived in one’s peripheral vision, giving off the sensation that one is standing at an outpost at the edge of the forest. Atelier Jørgensen describes it as such: “The outpost is self-sustaining as an outpost should be, both in physical and emotional requirements. Set on the edge of civilization where there is no fast response for help in the case of an emergency, the next fire that comes will burn past it, leaving the outpost as the lone sentry, on watch. Designed for the advancement of enlightenment.”

Check out the images of the home above, and check back with Atelier Jørgensen in the coming weeks as they are set to launch their revamped website.

In other design news, Frank Gehry’s Battersea Building opens its doors.