Rankin Creek House
Missoula, Mont.
Public Art and Architecture

Creekside Habitat Hosts Jewel-like Intimate Spaces

For more photos click on 'photos & drawings' above.

This residence is sited on the heavily wooded Rattlesnake Creek bed. The main body of the house runs parallel to the creek, allowing the sight and sound of its year-round flow to be experienced within the 110-foot-long space. There is an outer, protective shell, and an inner intimate core to the house. The outer shell is composed of hard materials and the roof is supported by an exposed steel structure under a metal pan. When glazing is not present, the walls are poured concrete and boardformed and the floor is stone.The house is enclosed on the side opposite to the creek with a board-formed concrete wall that stops short of the roof, allowing a continuous band of clerestory for light and circulation.

Contained like precious jewels within this shell are the rooms of the house. They are distinctly separate structures, make of rich warm woods, each with a unique ceiling that brings the scale and feel to a more intimate level. Large sliding panels allow the rooms to become completely private. They are arranged in a linear pattern that follows the line of the creek, allowing a one-to-one relationship of creek to enclosure. The rooms are contained within a greater container, their unique ceilings separating them from the higher structure above—they are like pieces of cabinetry within a volume. The house is strongly horizontal, disciplined, and rests lightly on the land.

Formal name of building:
Rankin Creek House

Location:
Missoula, Mont.

Owner:
Matt Maxwell

Architect's firm:
Public Art and Architecture
4441 Park Boulevard
San Diego, Ca 92116
616.682.4083 tel
616.682.4084 fax
public3719@earthlink.net
www.publicdigital.com

Architect of record:
James Brown and James Gates

Project Manager:
Ruediger Thierhoff

Presentation:
Scot Bennet, Ruediger Thierhoff, Francisco Garcia